English experience

The English language is an important tool to develop in today’s world. Most people have some knowledge about this language around the world because of the influence that the United States has exercised in western culture and society. Because of that, a professional person has to speak and understand English language, and in the University of Chile is not the exception. We have to reach to the level 4 in English to have a good English knowledge.

In my experience, there are – elements that allow learning in the best possible way this language and that we have develop in the English course:

Talk: in every class we use the English language to communicate and express ourselves. The teacher use it too and explain us when we don´t understand but it would be more useful, I think, if we talk more and about simple and daily things because it’s really boring when we just answer questions. It would be better if we can talk freely about the topics that the teacher said.

Read: In the English courses that I’ve taken in the university, this is probably the most deficient part because the activities are centered in the conversation (in the classes) or the writing (in the blogs) but there are not a lot of activities focuses in the reading part, and I think that it`s the most important part because when we became sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist of teachers we will have to read a lot of investigations and books in English.

Write: In the courses, we express ourselves writing the blog’s post every week. This is a really good way to learn this language because we write in our own words what we think about the topic that the teacher propose us. The bad think, according to me, is there is no feedback between the teacher and the student in this part, because even when the teacher make us check the general mistakes, doesn’t correct our personals mistakes, and without that feedback we can’t improve our writing experience.

To finish, I would like to say that I´ve enjoy English class even when sometimes is boring. But I think that with the resources that the university has, we could learn more and reach the important knowledge that we need to develop in the world.

Houses and home

I have live in 3 different places in my life. The first one was a really big house in the country that my paternal family owns in their glory moments and when my mom and dad get married, they went to live there. They say that that house was beautiful (I don’t remember it because I live there until I was 3 years old) but it was full of rats, and my mom has panic to them so we have to leave the house.
Later, when my sister was born, we moved to a little apartment. I liked that apartment because it was near to my grandmother house and because I have a lot of friends there. But it was very small for our family, so we moved again to the apartment where we live since then.
This is a big and nice apartment and it have an excellent location because it is near to the subway, near to the supermarket, near to the Barros Luco hospital and near to the Great Avenue. This is important because we don’t have to travel a lot in car to get what we need, we can walk and that is important to our health and the environment.
I have live there for 12 years, with my sister, my mom and my dad. But if I have to choose where to live, I’ll choose a house not an apartment… that because 3 reasons; the first one is because of the front and backyard, I will love to have a garden with trees and flowers; the second one is for my cat can run in the grass and have another cat friends. The last one is for my sister has her orchard in our house and so we can enjoy the fruits that she harvests.

Environment

Every day, the citizens of Santiago produce 1,4 kg each of trash and the condition to eliminate that trash are not ecological at all. The dumpsters in the city have no recycling area and this make that trash accumulate and accumulate generating a lot of environmental damage.

That’s why people should be responsible with the things that they throw away, making smart choices when they have the trash in their hands. For example, it’s very simple separate the recyclable things from the things that are not. In my home, my sister start to separate the organic trash from the rest of the trash and with that organic wastes she make fertilizer and have her own organic orchard in my grandmother’s house. Now, every person in my house has to do that and with that we help to the environment. It’s a little thing that everyone can do, especially if you had a backyard.

We also, start to collect tetrapack cartons (of milk, juice, wine, etc.) and we take them to the recycling point that is in the Jumbo supermarket. I also make wallets with the big milk cartons and I sell it. That last one is a practical way to recycle trash because I transform an empty carton in something useful and pretty.

I walk every time I can, but I don’t have a car and the buses that I can take make their route with or without me, so I don’t really reduce pollution.

The people must change their mind about this topic and the authorities must implement programs that help to do more easily the recycling process. But, if we want a real change we have to stop companies that produce disposable things like plastic bags and plastic bottles that end up in the dumpsters and take between 100 and 1000 years to discompose.

So, we have a alternative for recycling and we have to use it, before it’s too late.

Books

I love books. It's maybe one of the things that I enjoy the most in the world. I think that literature open your mind and free your imagination, it take you to new worlds, it make you know things and places that you didn't know without moving your home. It's really magic ! Literature also makes people change things about themselves, the histories that books tell makes sense in our world and make us think about our lives.

I try to read a lot, I like to read in the bus when I travel for the city to get to the University of wherever I have to go. When I was a little girl I read a lot too, maybe more than now because I have more free time. I remember that when I like a book, I read it and read, and even learn parts of the book of memory. I don't know how many books I read avery year but it has to be between 7 and 9 books. But this year I couldn´t read as much as I want because of the university.

I like fiction books because the author tells histories with more freedom and without limits. I don't have a favourite writer but I like latinoamerican writers a lot: Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, Mario Benedetti and Diamela Eltit. One of books that I like the most about one of this writers is "La Tregua" of Mario Benedetti, I like it because this book tell the most beautiful love story that I ever read and when I read it, it make feel many emotions. Now, I don´t remember one character that I like the most because every character has one special thing that makes him/her unique.

Now, I'm reading a book that my boyfriend give me to my birthday this year. It is philosophical book about a tv show called House MD. Because of the character of the tv show is so interesting and curious, some philosophers analyze him with the theories of Philosophy. I like this book but not like I think I would because it compare dr. House forcibly and I don't like that. I haven't finish it yet.

Keep reading !!

The movie I like

I love go to the cinema because it's the best place to watch a movie in good conditions and with the best sound and image possible. I love to go with my friens and boyfriend because after the movie we can go to somewhere to have fun... so It's a complete way to enjoy with the people I care about. I go to the cinema often as it´s possible, but the tickets are very expensive so I can´t go as much as I like. The last time I went to the cinema I watch "Toy Story 3", I went with a friend and we have a great time with him.

I strangelly rent or buy a movie... I am not signed in any rent-a-movie shop, so I don't... But sometimes I rent a movie with my boyfriend because his mother is signed in that kind of stores.

I don´t have any favourite movie because I like so many that I can't choose just one. But I like a lot animated pictures and now I will tell about a japanese movie that I really like: Chihiro's Travel (El viaje de Chihiro). This movie it's about a little girl that get lost with her parents and discover a strange village where odd things happens. Her parents turn into pigs and Chihiro, the little girl has to save them working for a old and evil witch that can transform her parents in humans again. In the movie happens a lot of funny, sad and strange things... It's a beautiful story full of magic and love.

I have seen this movie around 5 times... not so many because I don't had it, but if I had it in my hands I'll watch it all the time.

I totally recommend this movie... people thinks that because is a animated movie, it's a children's movie, but it's not... It's a movie for sensitive people that enjoy little things of life and learn for everything. This is totally a movie that everybody has to watch in one moment of their life because you will enjoy it to the very end.

Santiago

In the post of today, I will tell you about the city I was born and raised: Santiago of Chile. I live in the San Miguel commune, so I’m almost in the center of the city and because of that I’m near to a lot of places. First of all I would like to recommend a monument that is near to my house and that represents to the Chilean people: Condorito statue. This singular figure it's a great place to visit if you are a foreign person because you can watch for yourself one of the most beloved character of the chilean history.

But if you want to watch serious art, you have to visit the Bellas Artes Museum. This museum is in center of the city, in the middle of the Forestal park. You can walk across this park and later go to the museum and have a great afternoon in the center of the Santiago's culture. Near this place, are a lot of littles Cafes where you can have something delicious to eat, but I warn you, it's very expensive.

However, If you want to eat something really delicious, you should go to "Domino" restaurant. In this place you can eat the most exquisite hot dog of the town and even when the hot dog isn't really part of the chilean cuisine, I think that this is one of the most representative dishes of the country.

If you are looking for entertaiment, the Bellavista district is the place for you. In this place you can eat, have some drinks and also enjoy of the chilean musicians's show because in this place there are a lot of bars with live music.

The last place that I will recommend you is the San Cristobal hill. When there are no much pollution in the air, from up there you can see all the city of Santiago and it looks beatiful. That view is the perfect ending for the travel across this gorgeus city that even when it have this problem it's a beautiful place to live in.

Mexico

The country that I would like to visit someday is Mexico. I choose this country because is one of the greatest of Latin America and because it have a lot of history and conserve a lot of ancestral traditions that I would like to know.

Mexico is known in the world because a lot of things. First of all because it was the place where one of the most important empires of Latin America had it home: The Aztec Empire. This empire was a pre-Columbian culture that develops a monumental architecture in the years when the machines that we know to build that type of things doesn’t exist at all. That’s because this architecture is so valuable.

In our days in Mexico happens a really curious party. This party is called “El día de los muertos” (The day of the dead people) and is a party that mixes the Indian traditions and the catholic religion

to honor the people that they love and that pass the way. They prepare a lot of food for the dead ones and make floral arrangements for them.

I would like to visit this country and see those traditions for myself, so if I go would be just as a vacation. But I think that if the occasion presents I would like to study or work in the National Autonomist University of Mexico that is located in this beautiful country.

The last term

Hi! Welcome to my first post of the English IV’s course. In this post I will write about the first term of the 2010. That was also the first term on the Sociology career for me, and because of that, I spend a big part of the semester trying to understand this new world that is for me, the University of Chile and this Faculty specifically.

I also have to get used to the rhythm of the study and organized my time to do all the things that I like and have to do. I think that the “time issue” was the most problematic of the term and was a whole challenge to organize my time, because I wasn’t used to spend so many time reading and studying and I have to sacrifice time with my family and friends for that. But, finally, the time I spend studying was worth it because I passed all the courses and I learn a lot of the sociologic discipline.

I didn’t do any sport last term because I didn’t have time enough for do it, but I had a little time to go the cinema with my boyfriend and friends and for a couple of concerts that I wanted to go. But finally, It was a term in what I learned a lot of the career I’m studying and also about myself because I didn’t know that I could take so much pressure.

This is a picture of my beautiful cat, Benita Sol :D First of all, I want to tell to you about her because the story of my cat is sad and happy at the same time. She came to our house on October 28th of last year when she was so little that she can't eat for her own, me and my sister have to feed her with a syringe. We calculate that she were like 2 or 3 weeks old and someone has been abandoned her, and we saved her... She was so tiny and helpless... I don't understand how some people can be so heartless...

The happy part is that we love her SO MUCH, she is the only pet that we ever had and she so funny, she makes our days happier. Even my mom and dad that in the begging don't like her, end up in love with her! She is the most cute cat in the world!!!

Well, this pictures was taken on my aunt house. She takes this picture with her camera like four months ago... This day was the celebration of my cousin birthday and we take her to her house because we couldn't leave her alone in my house, because she was still to little... In the picture appears Benita Sol (or Benita Sun) with her blue eyes and her gorgeous gray and white fur :)

I like this picture because is the only picture that I have of when my cat was little and I like to remember all the adventures that she has had in her life !

WORLDCUP!

The Worldcup is coming, that is no secret for anyone... And for the people that don't enjoy very much this sport (like me) would like that those days would be like any other days of the year.

But, the fact is that every men I know, and some women too, will be obsessed with it! So, tragicly, I will have to destine some minutes of my day for hear my boyfriend, my father and my male friends talk and talk about it...

That will be a proof of tolerance and patience, because I really don't care about it!

But the Worldcup will have some positive things too, like see happy and with hope to the people you love and even when you won´t share the joy of the game.

The bad thing is that our country, Chile, doesn't have many options for win this Worldcup :( An that is bad because the whole country will be so much sad and depressed because the hopes that they have now will be disappear...

I don´t like the stereotype of the football player... I prefer men with brain and sense of humor than muscle and money XD

According to my boyfriend opinion the country that will win is Spain because is the most prepared and the strongest team. They also have so many good players like Van Persie, "El niño" (The kid), Torres and Ikel Casillas. They all have a very strong international trajectory and they are good evaluated.

Fother Muckers!

I actually don´t have a favorite band but latelly I'm really into a band...

Fother Muckers is a chilean rock band that started its career in 2006, they have been edited three albums (LP) along this time and their names are "No soy uno" (I´m not one) in 2007, "Justo y necesario" (Just and necessary) in 2008 and the last album called "Si no tienes nada que decir, entonces calla" ( If you don't have anything to say, then shut up) in the last day of 2009. They also have two EP, "Fother Muckers" of 2006 and "Una navidad con los Fother Muckers" (A christmas with Fother muckers) on the Christmas of 2008.

They are really great on stage, the singer, Cristóbal Briceño is very eccentric person and he made a funny performance when he is singing :) Musically speaking they are very good because they are different from other chilean band, the voice of the singer is sometimes high and sometimes low and it makes that a special thing to considerate.

Their songs are varied, they have rapid songs and slow romantic songs. I always go to see their shows, actually they play this friday on "La Batuta", and I will go, of course ;)

My netbook :)

I love my netbook, it's the most comfortable piece of technology that I have. This is a little computer, smaller that a regular notebook, but with almost the same functions. I bought it for me, in February of the current year because in March I would enter to the university and I thought that it would be useful for do the homeworks and the research for the works.

So I use the netbook mostly for the univesity homework, like I said before, but I also use it for chat with my friends and boyfriend, listen to music, play the most incredible game ever called Plants v/s Zombies, read blogs or websites and for learn more about things that I like or that I'm interested on.

I use it almost every day, there is always something to do, someone to talk or new things to learn.

I like it because it's useful, compact, comfortable and beautiful. It brings closer to me the information and, most important, the people that I loved and that I can´t see often now.

Without my netbook, my life would be almost the same, for the exception that I have to fight with my father and sister for the use of the other computer, that is of my dad.

That it's probably the best thing of my netbook, that it's mine, I bought it with the money that I had saved in the bank, so I can use it without asking for permission to anyone !

That's cool :D

Alain Touraine

Alain Touraine is a french sociologist who was born on August 3rd of 1925 in the city of Hermanville-sur-Mer, he studied at the Columbia, Chicago and Harvard universities in the United States.

He worked as a researcher in the French National Council of Investigation until 1958.

He founded the Study Centre for the Work Sociology in our loved university and he focused his career on Latin America and Poland's social troubles.

He recibed in 1998 the Amalfi european award of sociology and social science for his contribution of the discipline.

I like and admired this person because of the relationship that he has made with my continent and because he based his work in the Sociological Intervention (concept that appear from the investigation on Poland and that is recopilated in the book The voice and the look, in french Voix et le Regard) that it´s the form that sociologist can be envolved with the people you are investigation making of sociology a discipline that it's in contact with the people, a warm social science.

Unusual and beautiful.

In my last birthday, I turned eighteen and in this morning my younger sister appears with a little red box with white dots in it... I opened it and I found a lot of little presents that she had been bought for me... It was a little box in the red box with sunflower's seeds for I plant (my sister is very very hippie) a little notebook with coloured pages, a gorgeous paper flower, a candy and a kind of poem that said beautiful things about our sister's relationship :)

I was very happy with my gift because my sister never express her feelings so externally like that ! I got really emotional about that and I think that I cried... It was a heart to heart gift with a extra special level of details that showed a lot of love !

It was a really realy beautiful present, I loved it :D

Night of nightmare.

That night I was at my home, my whole family where there too, but I was the only one awake... I had been on the computer chatting online with my boyfriend and when I got sleepy I went to the bathroom because I wanted to brush my teeth. Suddenly the light went out and the electric generator of my building began to worked, making a loud and terrible noise, that was the first time of this night (the others come inmediatly) that I got scared...

I continued brushing my teeth, trying not to be scared but in this moment the floor began to move, first slowly... and every time faster. I heard that my parents awoke and I call my sister who was still sleeping. We got together and the land began to shake very fast and we are all very scared, screaming and even crying... I tried to calm myself but the fear where stronger than me!

Then the earthquake stopped and, still in shock, we started to order the mess that had turns out and, of course, tried to communicate with our family and my boyfriend... we spend the most horrible hours worried about our loves ones, but fortunately they are well and nothing happens to them :)

It was, so far the most horrible experience that I've ever lived, but I think it makes me stronger and the next time I'll be prepared to face one of this horrible events!

WELCOME TO MY BLOG !

Today is a special day, maybe one of the most important in the Blog's world! Why? you're wondered... the answer is easy, today is the day that my little blog has its first post :) This is a blog that has been made for a task of English III, but I will put in this virtual pages things about myself and my life that I share with you.

Well my name is Javiera Pérez, I´m 18 years old and I live in the commune of San Miguel. Since march of the current year I am student of Sociology of the Universidad de Chile and I´m very happy with my choice of professional studies :D

My knowledge of the english lenguage is because the formal studies in my school, but especially for the TV and the song's lyrics. And I hope to learn more of this lenguage during the semester!