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Thanks Herminia. I know, it is mind-boggling to think how ancient peoples managed to make those enormous stone objects. Or think of the Pyramids - they are evn more mind-boggling!
Can I help you with an expression?
It seems to me as a miracle = It seems like a miracle to me...
Bye,
Pieter

I don't have any idea about who built the moais. I can't imagine so hard work done with such a shortage of machines and tools. It seems to me as a miracle actually and I had longed to visit the Easter Island for ages. For me, symbolize a mysterious land, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that stands on a highly energized site.I wish to see all this, some day.

Hi Pieter,

many thanks for your comments.
It is fine that you are interested in the Marriage Encounter.
We, I and my husband, have attended the work of Marriage Encounter already 13 years.
I can tell some more about it

The Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME) organizes marriage weekends in over 90 countries across Europe, America, Australia and Africa. Although it is based on a Christian understanding of marriage, its message is presented in a way that is accessible to Christians and non-Christians alike. Nowadays WWME is the strongest pro-marriage movement in the world. Weekends are available in the context of twelve different faith expressions such as Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist. The first Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend was organized in 1962 in Spain by the Roman Catholic priest, Father Calvo.

The most important aim of these weekends is to deepen the intimacy and commitment of couples. The weekend also trains participants to use different kinds of communication techniques. In this way spouses can grow closer to one another.

The Marriage Encounter weekend, which runs from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, consists of a series of presentations. After a presentation spouses reflect as individuals on what they have heard and then talk together as a couple in the privacy of their own room. This same pattern of presentation, reflection and dialogue continue throughout the weekend. There is no group work because the focus is on the couple’s own relationship.

The weekend is residential and held in hotels or conference centres so that accommodation and all meals are provided. A presenting team consists of four couples and they are responsible for the weekend. One of these couples is always from the clergy or on a Catholic weekend a Catholic priest. The work of the Marriage Encounter operates entirely on a voluntary basis. All weekends are financed in advance. Couples are asked only to pay a small booking fee. At the end of the weekend couples are given the opportunity to make a confidential donation, if they wish, towards the cost of future weekends for other couples.

One of the most rewarding aspects in this work has been meeting many new couples. For example last summer we attended the meeting organized by the Lutheran Marriage Encounter in Iceland. There were over 100 couples from the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom. We really enjoyed the experience of spending time with them.

LInk to WWME
http://www.wwme.org/

P.S. I will try to comment also on the messages from other students.

Maarit

Hi mkorhone, So you've been to Iceland, I always wanted to go there. It does sound amazing. One thing I don't understand: why did you go there? What is this marriage encounter?
A couple of small things:
We flow by Icelandair. = The past tense is "flew"
little like a moon. This is not quite complete; you can say "It looks a bit like the moon."
...and landscapes are hilly."Landscape" is not quite right in this sentence. You can say: The countryside is very hilly.
Islanders are very friendly. = THE islanders are..
OK, thanks for posting.
Pieter.
P.S. Are you reading and commenting on the messages from the other students?

Who do you think built the Easter Island statues? Why? How?

I think that there have been hundreds or thousands slaves and they have done this statues and died during this work. It is quite same situation as in Egypt with Pyramids.

Would you like to visit Easter Island? Why/Why not?

Why not. It must be very extraordinary island.

What is the most remote place you have been to? How did you get there? Why did you go? What was it like?

I have been in Iceland with my husband and our daughter. We flow by Icelandair. We attended the meeting of the Marriage Encounter. I liked very much our holiday in Iceland. It is very beautiful and extraordinary place little like a moon. There are no trees only bushes. There are volcanoes and landscapes are hilly. Islanders are very friendly. I can recommend Iceland...

The Pitcairn Islands ( /ˈpɪtkɛərn/;[1] Pitkern: Pitkern Ailen), officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, form a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Pacific.[2] The four islands – named Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno – are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and have a total land area of about 18 square miles (47 km2). Only Pitcairn, the second largest and measuring about 2 miles (3.2 km) across, is inhabited.