Out of the blue

Out of the blue

Yesterday I was working out when that thought popped into in my mind. That was not good at all.

My First day on italk

It's my first day on <s>my</s> italki. I'm very happy and anxious to learn<s> from to lerning</s>.

Please help check if there are any unnatural expressions (sounds a bit more natural in plural with 'any')

Recently, <s>the </s>people in many countries have been able to live and work anywhere they choose because of / as a result of improved communication technology and transport. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

Thanks to the advancements in communication technology and transport, people nowadays are able to live and work in any place (anywhere) that they like. Although there are some downsides behind this trend, I personally believe that it has a positive influence overall.

On the one hand, it is undeniable that the freedom to choose a place to live and work brings some drawbacks. Firstly, due to technological improvements in aircraft, most airline companies have dramatically cut their prices of flight tickets, (thereby) enabling people to fly to far-flung destinations to settle down (to settle down works here but it is used more often in situations where a single person or couple decide to buy a house or stop traveling in order to stay in one place long term. It is a bit odd being juxtaposed with flying/traveling somewhere to settle down.). These long-haul trips mean a huge cost to the environment because of the fossil fuels being burned by planes. Secondly, living and working remotely can lead (it is important to hedge when writing in English--if you use usually it suggests you know that it is the case most people feel this way but without evidence you cannot make such a claim. In such cases, where we lack evidence we hedge) to a lack of a sense of community, homesickness or even culture shock, which may<s> impose a</s> negatively impact <s>on </s>a person's mental state.

On the other hand, however, the disadvantages mentioned above can be offset to some extent. Some of the airline companies are beginning to use biofuels to power their aircraft; people living far away from their hometowns can use numerous apps, such as WhatsApp, WeChat and Skype, to keep in touch with their families.

In my opinion, the biggest benefit <s>involved </s>is that people living in different places are able to enjoy

a colorful (British Spelling: Colourful vs. Ameican Spelling: Colorful--just be sure to be consistent) life, enriching their life <s>experience</s>. Freelance language tutors are a good example of this. A large number of tutors on a well-known English learning website teach online <s>while living in</s> from foreign countries such as Thailand, China and Japan. They can not only earn a decent salary but also enjoy exotic scenery and a different lifestyle.

In conclusion, although there are some disadvantages to living and working in other places, I think we should embrace this trend for its many advantages.

My new normal lifestyle.

This is a brief reflection on how I have had to reinvent myself due to the global pandemic. My life has been flipped upside-down, in other words, I went from having an 80% outdoor routine to having an 100% indoor routine in which I'm trapped inside.

Yes, this is how I feel but I know that there are so many people out there feeling just like me.

It feels like someone has taken our freedom away and sometimes I find myself longing for the ''good old days''.

Gosh/Jeez/God! I wish I could turn back <s>the hands of </s>time or at least I had a super power to fight against the invisible enemy, that is covid-19, and stop mankind from suffering.

I strongly believe that everybody, in some way, is wondering when and how it will end, but the truth is ''I can´t bear it any longer''.

Oops! = used after making a mistake/error.

What do you know about the history of some holidays?

Holidays usually are dates that important events happened on. Here in Brazil there are 12 holidays. Most <s>part</s> of them are related to Catholic <s>church </s>saint or event. Most <s>part </s>of the time<s>s</s>, Brazilians wish for holidays to happen on Tuesdays or Thursdays. In this way, they can extend the weekend with the holiday. It's good for a healthy lifestyle but bad for the economy.

The most well-known holiday is <s>the </s>Carnival. There are approximately a week of parties all over the country. People from all over the world come here to enjoy it. In multiple cities the government allows <s>the </s>people to use some streets or beaches ( depending of where you are) <s>to the public </s>to party.

In these places, competitions among dancing groups usually happen. The groups are composed of a lot of dancers and huge decorated vehicles.

In my opinion, a few things are really beautiful. But unfortunately only those who live<s>s</s> near where the parties take place know<s>s</s> <s>the </s>another side of the coin. Sex, drugs, prostitution and many other gross things are just the start. What you watch on the television is just a small percentage of what carnival is. The crowds disturb the households and after the party is over thousands of tons of garbage are left all over the streets. I don't want to generalize, a few people have fun and don't disturb anyone.

Usually the government provides the necessary sanitary equipment for people to use. The problem is cultural.

Why sleep is so important?

Why sleep is so important?

There's no doubt that we have to sleep and what is also important is we must sleep well. Fortunately, I haven't had any problems with insomnia. I can fall asleep within a minute, but from time to time I can't.

Sometimes I can say in the morning: 'Although I <s>have </s>slept for so long, I still feel tired'. The following hours throughout the day usually are bad for me. I have to drink coffee or take a nap.

One of the most beautiful aspects of sleep are dreams. Although some of them are so scary, I like dreaming. Some of my dreams are scarier than others. Fortunately, I also have good dreams, which are as nice as others. If I have a nice dream, I want to remember it.

Sleep also has biological and medical aspects. It consists of two periods: REM and non-REM sleep. It's a cycle. We should take care of our sleeping habits, because in this way we can make our sleep better. My teacher at university said that we had to sleep in a completely dark room and we shouldn't have used cell phones, TVs and computers in the short space of time before go to bed. She was convinced about it and I agree with her.

It's a challenge for me go to bed early. Today I'd like to change that! Tonight I'll have gone to sleep by 10 p.m. Wish me '<s>Good </s>luck!' ;)

PS. I can experiment with this towards the evening, but now I am about to have breakfast ;)

Naja Bite Ends Up Exposing Exotic Animal Trafficking Scheme in Brazil

Roughly two weeks ago, a veterinarian student named Pedro Henrique Lehmkul was hospitalized in Brasília, capital of Brazil, after being bitten by a venomous snake. It might have been just one more <s>case of a</s> snake bite in a country which counts <s>with </s>dozens of species of venomous snakes (as native species), if it were not for the fact that the serpent that bit Pedro was a naja. A species well known for being one of the most venomous in the world and for being native to Africa and Asia, places far from Brazil.

The case obviously caught the authorities' attention, which started an investigation to know where the snake was and where it had come from. The serpent was found shortly after the beginning of the investigation<s>s</s> in a box next to a mall in the city. The investigation<s>s</s> led to the information that Gabriel Ribeiro, Pedro's friend, was responsible for leaving the animal at the location. After that, the police <s>did </s>raided <s>at </s>Pedro's and Grabriel's properties and found another sixteen snakes - most of them exotic species that are not native to Brazil - and three sharks, which suggests that the two men are involved in an international scheme of exotic animal trafficking. The investigation is still ongoing.

Pedro is already out of danger and was already discharged from the hospital. He was fined for keeping an exotic animal without authorization and may face further charges as the investigation<s>s</s> continues. The snake was sent to a local zoo.

The conversation with a guy from Germany. This is the first part

Two days ago, I had a conversation with a guy from Germany. <s>His fluency in English is much faster than mine</s>. (He speaks more fluently than I do / He speaks English faster than I do). However, I could understand him well because I know all the words that he spoke. Nevertheless, I could not express some of my thoughts and formulate them quickly enough what I wanted to say to him. That is the reason why I will be trying to make some sentences from my thoughts (from that day) that I was not able to express to him in English during that discussion.

First of all, this guy told me that Estonia was a digital state which made Estonia a developed country (it's also the truth <s>for </s>these days). The reason for this statement is that all citizens and people, who have a residence permit for living in Estonia, can do all administrative and financial operations through the internet. I mean that they can pay for <s>the </s>housing and make utility payments or submit applications or documents to the state organizations and so on through the internet.

I needed to tell this guy that Russia has the same service for its people, and that after the coronavirus crisis, my native country will develops this even further. However, I wasn't able <s>not </s>to form my thoughts about this topic quickly enough.

This guy told me that he improved his English through watching videos with native English speakers. As he said, he has been watching how native English speakers speak and trying to emulate them.

I wanted to ask him what English videos he watched. I meant, were they adapted or non-adapted videos for learners, but I forgot the word "adapted".

To be continued...