Sonia

=**COLOMBIA**=

My name is Sonia. I was born in Colombia in South America. I grew up and lived in many different regions in Colombia and Venezuela. Afterwards, I went and lived in Spain-Europe for a long time and in Central America, as well.

I have many special feelings and memories of all the countries where I have lived. I feel that every place that we go leaves a little bit of itself in us and so we are made up of all the places where we have been.

From Colombia I remember the jungle, the Andes Mountains and their many different Indigenous and Afro-Colombian people. I love them! In Colombia 67 languages are spoken: Spanish and 64 indigenous languages, two creoles languages in San Andres and Providencia Islands, and Palenque, which is from the Bantu African language and is only spoken by people in a small village called Palenque.

From Venezuela, it's the Orinoco River I remember. From Central America, it's their volcanoes, bush mountains and the beautiful Caribbean Sea. And from Spain, the most special memorie is that there in Barcelona, I met with Matthew, my love! Also, I remember the food, the music and the diversity of the languages: They speak Spanish, Euskera, Gallego and Catalan. And in all these places the nicest thing is the people, of course!

I arrived in Tasmania four months ago. My husband and I, we are very happy here. I like this city because it's small, quiet, nice, and green and has its blue sea. For me, Hobart is a garden with a city not the city with gardens!

I enjoy meeting new people from different countries and cultures and to get to know their traditions, languages and food.

Think about these questions and write your answers on your student page, or send an email to your teacher.
 * Your Learning Plan **

1. What are your long-term goals? (Choose __one__ of the following beginnings:) //I’m sorry Helen, I didn't choose only one beginning because I would prefer to answer each one of this questions! //

//"When I finish English classes I want to study and work ." "In 5 years time I would like to be writing articles in English " "In Australia I would like to work as a development worker" "At the moment I am working in Amnesty International as a volunteer, but I would really like to be working in the same organisation or other similar that have social work."

2. What are your short-term goals for your English learning? "This term, I want to improve my English". "At the end of this term I want to be able to speak English very well” "At the end of this year I want to be able to speak English and to work. I want to finish Certificate Level 3 or Module Advantage.

3. What are your strengths? "I'm good at reading and speaking but I think that I need to improve in grammar

4. What are your weaknesses? "I'm not good at grammar but now I feel that it’s much better than when I arrived here.

5. Do you have any barriers which make it hard for you to come to class regularly or study at home? (eg young children, work, poor health) No really, I enjoy my class, for this reason I am trying to come to class every day at time. // // 6. What resources do you have to help you to learn English? //

//I have an English-speaking friend, I speak English with my husband, I watch the news on the television every day, I write letters in English by hand or sometimes on the computer, I send e-mails in English, I go 1 or 2 times per week to the Public Library of Hobart, or get out grammar books and exercise books from the Learning Centre of the Polytechnic. //

//I read the newspaper and I listen to the radio station in English. Sometimes, I talk to my neighbours, use the telephone for my appointments with the doctor, to recharge my phone credit and I read the newspaper and magazines. And I’m volunteer in Amnesty International 4 hours per week and I’m working with different people with different accents, backgrounds, and experience. In my volunteer job I need to speak, to listen, to read and to write. //

//7. List 4 things you will do to work on your weaknesses (question 4). //

//To write and write every day. // //To read every day one page of the newspaper, magazine or a book // //To listen to the radio station in English // //To make exercises of English grammar //

//8. What can you do on your own to help you achieve your goals (question 2)? // //To study and to put in practice my English skills at all moments of my life here and to continue my volunteer job and I am attending one class about Aboriginal Australia in the University of Tasmania. //

**__ How Australia can help to overcome the world health crisis. __** The world health crisis is partly due to the shortage of health workers in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. This problem is made worse by many nations, like Australia, taking health workers from these countries to make up for not enough workers in their own health systems. It is true that Australia is facing a shortage of hospital staff. The government is trying to increase the number of health workers in remote Australia to help overworked doctors and nurses in these areas. In order to do this Australia is recruiting health workers from overseas. The 2008 G8 conference asked that countries find local solutions to their health needs. The World Health Organisation is concerned about taking overseas doctors from poorer nations and many people believe that developed countries have always taken doctors from overseas and now must do something in return. Money given to eliminate AIDS, TB or malaria must include training and maintaining local health workers. According to a report during the last G8 meeting, Japan has promised ‘to fund the training of 100,000 health workers in Africa over the next five years.’ (//Peter Deutschmann, The Age//) Australia needs to subsidise countries in this region in a similar way. If Australia and other developed countries train enough health workers for their own communities and also support training health workers in developing countries, the health crisis will not continue to grow out of control. Governments of these countries must act immediately.

//What is the problem discussed in this essay?

It's about how the actual system of health between the developing countries and poor countries, is not the best solution for the world crisis that the system is experiencing. On the one hand, the few health professional from poor countries go off to work overseas to country such as Australia, where the government pay a lot of money, but the developing countries each day have less health workers , for that reason, less possibilities to solve their own needs!

How can it be resolved?// //The challenge is change the way, that the developed countries help the developing countries with health aids no only financial aid such as training, investigations, etc. This is the undertaking of the G8 countries (richness countries in worldwide) with Africa and Asia.//

//Write down words that you do not understand and lookup their meaning in a dictionary, either on line or using a dictionary from the library.

Write a sentence that includes the new word. You may need more than one sentence. Show yur teacher or a class mate.//