Review of a Performance

Hello people!

I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything since my introduction, but I just didn’t have anything to tell you. But, surprise-surprise, I do have something to tell you right now! This is also an assignment for school, so let’s get started!

Review of a performance: How to be Orange

Performance: How To Be Orange

Performer: Gregory Shapiro

When: 27th of September at approximately 8 PM

Where: At my own school

Yes, the location is a bit odd, so I feel like a little explanation will be needed before I start reviewing. The thing is, I am, together with a lot of other students, part of the Cambridge ESOL – English for Speakers of Other Languages – program, which gives my English language skills a huge boost. I won’t bother you with any other theoretical chitchat about it, but the point is that I’ve passed my first exam, FCE – First Certificate in English – and this Gregory Shapiro was our guest speaker and performed his show How to be Orange at my school.

The show reflected on the Dutch culture and what it’s like for an American like himself to live in the Netherlands. Some examples are the Dutch language, our typical phrase ‘hèhè’ and how some of our words would be pronounced in English, like ‘Mama, die, die, die!’ and the Dutch names Bas, Job, Tjerk and Freek. Just try pronouncing those to yourself in an English accent, it sounds pretty funny.

But the key of every performance is bringing it in a way that makes your audience find it funny as well. And, judging by the laughter in the school canteen and my own belly that started to hurt from laughing, he did a very good job at that. The performance was funny, understandable and well-put. And not only we, the teenagers, found it funny, but our parents had a good laugh as well.

All together, it was a really good performance and I certainly had a good time. The only downside was that it didn’t last very long. That’s really the only con I can come up with, because all together it was really great and really enjoyable. Gregory himself seemed to be a nice man as well, because he assisted handing out the certificates after his show by calling out the names. So if you’re in for a good laugh, certainly check out one of his shows! He can also be seen on HumorTV and has his own YouTube channel. I hope you’ll enjoy watching him as much as I did.

My Dream Holiday

What would my dream holiday be like? That's a hard question, because there are still a lot of things I'd like to do. I haven't seen a lot of the world yet, so there are so many things I'd still like to visit. So I'll pick one quite big country I'd like to visit: The United States of America. I would like to visit this country because there is so much to do there and I feel like I just have to go there once in my life. Besides that, it’s an English speaking country so it won’t be too hard for me to communicate and get around.
My holiday starts at Schiphol Airport, most likely in the spring when I’ve just finished studying, so then I’ll be like 24 or so. One of the planes takes me – just me, and maybe my boyfriend – to New York. When there, I visit some famous buildings and places: The Empire State Building, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and I also want to experience what life in the Big Apple is like, because it will be unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
After New York, another plane takes me to Washington – the city, not the state, to admire the White House. Next up is Chicago, to see the city and to be amazed by the size of Lake Michigan.
That’s it for the Northeast of the States. After that I’d go to Florida, to Orlando.  It has always been one of my dreams to see a Killer Whale in person and ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to go to Sea World. It’s kind of childish indeed, but since this is a dream, and money isn't an issue, why not?
So after Orlando, I’m going to Las Vegas, to taste what Vegas-life is like. From there on I’d also go to the Grand Canyon – I heard it looks amazing – and tour around the desert with a car. When I’m done there, the last stop is Los Angeles. I really want to go to Hollywood and take some steps on the Walk of Fame! By the time I’m there, it’ll be summer and to round off the holiday I’d stay there for a while, just relax a bit on the beach and have a lot of fun. 

Welcome!

Welcome everyone!

My name is Cynthia and this is my blog. I have created this blog for school uses, but I might use it for other purposes as well.

First, I'll tell you a little bit about myself. I'm 15 years old and I'm in, as the Americans would call it, my sophomore year, so that means two more years before I graduate from high school. And I certainly need those years, because I have no clue on what to do after high school.
I play water polo, I really enjoy playing my guitar - although it doesn't always sound that well when I turn on my amplifier - and I can "waste", as some would call it, my time for hours by playing videogames. I have a boyfriend and sometimes I work at the local supermarket in the weekend.

That's it about me for now.

See you again soon!