[Student's Essay] "Easter"

Easter is a Christian holiday that  celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After dying on the cross, his body was placed in a tomb where he remained until his resurrection, when his spirit and body were reunited. It is the most important day of the Christian religion, when people go to church and participate in religious ceremonies.

Most of the traditions of Easter refer to acts that were incorporated into Christian life. The Pagan tribes of Europe celebrated the birth of Spring in late March, it was the worship of the goddess of Spring, “Eostre”. Some philosophers say that it was from that which the word came into English.

The symbol of Easter is the rabbit, that means fertility and comes from the fact that rabbits are notable for their ability to reproduce. As Easter is resurrection and rebirth, there’s nothing better than rabbits to        symbolize fertility!

By Isabele Araujo (GE Upper-Intermediate)

Picnic to GOMA(the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art)

Recently students went on an excursion to GOMA, the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. The current exhibition’s title is ‘21st Century: Art in the First Decade’. The visit was a great ‘hit’ with the students as the art works and installations were interactive, quirky and very engaging. We were fortunate to have a very good guide who explained some of the mysteries of the art pieces and enabled yet another opportunity for the students to listen, ask questions and practice their English in a fascinating and enriching environment.
Elea

Students gather in  front of the recycled "Plastic Bags" sculpture at GOMA.

“I had a wonderful afternoon with my teachers and my classmates. I really loved GOMA it’s a beautiful and interesting place to visit. ‘Plastic Bags’ by Pascale Marthine Tayou is a beautiful big sculpture composed of many plastic bags of different colours. I really loved this day. I think it is good when a school offers different activities to do. I enjoyed it a lot.” Thanks.
- Monalisa.

Angelica and Monalisa are reading the wishes they have selected from the 'Wish Wall'.

Excerpts from the students’ essays:

“Our excursion to GOMA was great. I had never been to a gallery of modern art before so this trip was my first time. The arts displayed here are different and on first impression seemed a little crazy, you need a few minutes to think about them and then you can understand what the artist wants to say in their work. The ‘Wish Wall’ is about desires, and I got two wrist bands. One was about saving the animals of the planet - this is my desire.”  - Caroline.

Una and Roberto share their wishes....may they come true!

“Goma was both funny and interesting; every room had something special to look at. The display I liked the most was the ‘Wall of Wishes’. The wall can help people become aware of their own dream, and everyone needs to find the dream of their heart.” - Paula

Students look at the 'Spiral Slide' sculpture. It's an interactive installation you can slide down.

“I really liked going to the Gallery of Modern Art so very much. It was an amazing experience. There were so many interesting art pieces and we could interact with some of them. For me the most interesting art piece was the ‘Soul Under the Moon’ by Yayoi Kusama. It’s a dark room with a lot of little balls of different colors. There’s also many mirrors on the walls and ceilings so you have the feeling that there are infinite halls.” - Pedro.

“In my opinion the excursion was very good because the group could see a lot of different sculptures, pictures and modern art works. Also we could practice our English in a different environment other than the college, so it was great.”  - Sebastian.

Sebastian and Juan are about to slide down the 'Spiral Slide' sculpture.

“I’d never been to this gallery before and I had always thought Galleries might be boring. In the past I’ve never understood modern art, but this gallery changed my mind.  I found almost everything interesting. Who could imagine that a gallery would have a sculpture slide, a wish wall and a Lego place? From ‘Here to Ear’ was the most interesting for me. All these little birds flying around the room. Who could believe that birds could live like that? The art piece was constructed so that when the birds landed on the coat-hangers they made music. I loved it! This gallery is very special; you can interact with some of the art pieces. I will be recommending this gallery to my friends.” - Una

Pedro, Ana Maria, Angelica and Sebastian love the 'From Here to Ear' installation

- tiny finches fly freely around this room just above their heads.

“When I arrived at Goma I thought it would be boring but I was totally wrong! The exhibition is about art in the first decade of the 21st century and it’s showing contemporary art in a different way. For instance, ‘From Here to Ear’ (by Celeste Boursier- Mougenot from France) was a room full of coat hangers where little birds could live and make their nests. It felt like the perfect equilibrium between nature and art. This room made me feel happy. I really enjoyed visiting GOMA because I got to experience a new and different perspective about art and it changed my mind about art galleries being boring.”  - Angelica.

Marilia and Una are amazed at the elephant sculpture, it's so life-like.