An important test

Today I’m going to talk about an important test to me when I was in high school. I was eighteen years old and I just want to finish school phase and going to the university.

My last test in high school was an important test about chemistry. I really loved that subject, but the last part of the year was boring and I was demotivate with this. I didn’t want to study and, in this moment, I knew I didn’t want to study engineering, so the subject lost its importance to me. Because it was the last test, I didn’t need a great mark (they were good and my NEM didn’t made better), so I went to the school and I tried to think in anything else that wasn’t the test. When I was to the classroom, arrived the teacher and I decided that test didn’t matter, and I was finishing my school phase therefore anything deserve the suffering. I took the test, answered it and suddenly the teacher saw me (I don’t know why, until today don’t know) and asked me if I was fine. I answer something unintelligible and went on in my piece of paper. I finished and went to eat chips with my friends near school. Next week, when teacher gave marks, I had 70.

This test was important because reassert my decision about study sociology and any career related with sciences. And because it was the last test in my school life.

PET Words

Six questions witth PET Vocabulary words

Places: buildings

Tell about a visit to the museum you attended recently

How often do you go to the cinema?

Do you go to café when you hang out with your friends?

Food and drink

What beverage do you drink in a café?
What is your favorite dessert?
What do you think about women who live in diet?

A special gift to you

In last post we write about a special birthday. Now, because we are remember special things for us, it's good focus on another thing: write about a special gift you have received.

Say:
What was the gift
Why did you receive it
What you did,
Why you remember it.





Mention anything else you think is important. Write at least 250 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

A special birthday

Hello

In horrible days like today (for the weather, nothing else) it’s always good remember nice situations of our lives. Therefore I want to share you one special birthday of mine, my 9th birthday. I don’t consider a birthday like an important celebration but in Latin America is a special celebration: I was born in german city in Belgium, where is not customary a big celebration in birthdays.  


I arrived to Chile when I was seven years old and before that I didn’t celebrate my birthday until the 9th celebration. My uncle lent his house, which was bigger than mine, my aunt gave me a great birthday cake and my parents bought the rest (food, decorations, music). The best part of that is a piñata handmade by my mom: a piñata is a container, which is usually brightly, colored and decorated, made of cardboard or similar material that holds candy, trinkets and toys, and it is generally suspended from a rope and is broken open by blindfolded children wielding batons or sticks during a party. Then, my parents, knowing my friends, invited them but in secret because they wanted to give me a great surprise.

That day, I was at dentist with my mom, and before that she said me that in uncle’s house my family were waiting for me. A family dinner is always a good moment, but when I came in a house and appeared in front of me my friends with gifts, it was so nice and I must admit that it was so exciting and enjoyed my birthday.

That's all for now, see you!

Free post: Rudin

Hi everyone:

Today, we should write about free topic. I’m not the most creative person, so I think is good idea talk to you about a book that has a profound impact on me.

When I am fifteen-year-old girl, in summer vacations I read a Russian novel, its name is Rudin, the first novel written by Iván Turgueniév. Story is in the middle nineteen-century in the Russian country, with a medieval landowner system that was against the interests of peasants. It talks about superfluous life and inability to act, and is a love story where young but intellectual and self-conscious woman is contrasted with the main hero.

In a country house lived Lasunskaya family, with Daria Mikhailovna (the widow) and her twelve-year-old son and Natasha, her seventeen-year-old daughter. Rudin is the Dimitri’s last name, a well-educated, intellectual and extremely eloquent nobleman that has economics problems and depends on others for his livings.  His childhood was poor, and his mother had to spent all the money she had on him and that’s the way that Dimitri went to university, in Moscow and then in Berlin. He arrived at Lasunskaya house because he met Daria Mikhailovna in a Moscow hall, where she is considered like a wealthy and distinguished lady, but rather eccentric woman.

Natasha is observant, well-read and intelligent, but also quite secretive. While her mother thinks of her as a good-natured and well-mannered girl, she’s not of a high opinion about her intelligence, and quite wrongly. She also thinks Natasha is “cold”, emotionless, but in the throughout the story, we are witness that her feelings were strong and deep, but reserved, she seldom even sighed and only grew slightly pale when anything distressed her. She engages in intellectual conversations with Rudin, about how old love is replaced by new one. In that way, Rudin fell in love with Natasha, and Natasha fell in love with Rudin.

However, Daria Mikhailovna disapproved this romance, and offered Rudin the opportunity to go away and she wouldn’t report him as a crime (Natasha is underage). So, he left Lasunskaya house only left a letter to Natasha, who wants to go out with Dimitri: he doesn’t want and go abroad.

Last thing we read s about an old man that die in a barricade, in a French Revolution of 1848.

Running like a lifestyle

Hello everyone

Today, I’m going to write about an outdoor activity I like doing.

I am indoor person, enjoy reading books or playing chess, and thing like this, but there is an outdoor activity that I really like, which is running. This is a good form to exercise and it’s cheap, too. You need running shoes, shorts and running vest.  

I like running since my high school years because I loved playing exercise and it’s a good way to kill stress. When I started my undergraduate courses, it was more difficult keep a schedule and put on a bit weight, and after that, I gave up running until one year ago, when I began to have a headache.  So, now I go out and run three times a week, at least twice.

When I started my race is really great feel the fresh air, how my muscles move, circulating blood and my problems go. While there is the potential for injury in running, just as there is in any sport.  Some of these benefits are potential weight loss, improved cardiovascular and respiratory health because reducing the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, improved cardiovascular fitness, reduced total blood cholesterol, strengthening of bones (and potentially increased bone density, which is useful to me and my back diseases), possible strengthening of the immune system and an improved self-esteem and emotional state.

Running can also have psychological benefits, as many participants in the sport report feeling an elated, euphoric state, therefore I feel my problems go out. Running is frequently recommended as therapy for people with clinical depression and people coping with addiction.

That’s all for now, see you next Friday!

A beach I like: Scheveningen

Hi everyone,

 Today, I will write about a beach that is very important to me. I knew the sea in that place when I am child, because when I lived there was no seaside.
I don't really think of myself as a beach person, I don't often like to sunbathe and I don't like the sun like sit in its. However, this place is important because it was my first time in another country (until I remember) and was my first time to see the sea, the sand and sun in a great combination.

I was born in Eupen, a little german city in Belgium, and because of it, I didn’t know the sea, so in my fourth birthday, my parent’s gift was a travel to Holland until Scheveningen, a district to The Hague, the seat of the dutch government and parliament, and international organizations like International Court of Justice.
 First of all, with my parents went over The Hague, Huis ten Bosch (home of royal family), Ridderzaal and Binnenhof, historic buildings that now are the parliament. After, we went to Scheveningen district, which is very full of life, winter and summer. The beach has a boulevard, cinemas, casino, restaurants, is a modern seaside where is common the practice of nautical sport, like surf. In this time, I went in july, in the middle of summer but water was so cold, so I didn’t swim. Instead, I walked by the sandbeach, bought an ice cream and sat on the sun, and saw the sunset likely this picture.

Is not a beautiful seaside (in Chile is better), but it was my first time in that and sun seemed different and sand smelled great.

That’s it. See you next friday

NME, my favourite website

Hi everyone 

As a fan of music, movies, TV and just about all things pop culture, it was hard for me to choose which was my favourite website. In this day and age, any and all information is just a click away. I choose a website that gives me access to all of these things and more, NME.com

NME are initials to New Musical Express, a british musical publication, published weekly since 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format, changing from newsprint in 1998. An online version, NEM.com, was launched in 1996. Now, it’s the biggest standalone music site in the world, with over seven million users per month.

I’m a NME fan since before I learnt to read, because my parents bought a magazine, and heard singles appeared on this chart. I remember getting excited when my parents daa came every week when a new NME magazine would find on a store. They couldn’t wait to read the news and reviews on what was going on the world of music. TV and movies, and with that magazine, they taught me reading.

Now, with NME.com, I don’t have to wait next week anymore, and I don’t have problems to buy it, like happened when I came to Chile, because all of the info and more is available with the click of a mouse. While, I will admit that the website has taken some of the fun out of getting the magazine weekly, I can’t help myself and check out the site.

See you on friday!

Rita Lynn

Hi bloggers:
Today, I’m going to write about Constanza’s blog

The blog is creative, I really like the title (Rita Lynn), it use images but I think it needs a little bit much colour and design is a bit simple. About Constanza’s posts, I like a post when she writes about youtube like internet tool, basically for her reference about short movie “the bear that wasn’t”, it’s so good!

I think Cuevana is a great website, because you can watch a lot of movies without pay, like her. However, I agree with her when she writes about low quality of movies that are available. I will watch "El secreto de sus ojos" after your comment. A friend of mine told me about this movie, too, but I haven't had time or internet in my flat. In that way, I will watch it on holidays.

When I judge comments that people write on your blog I think they didn’t read your posts completely. I recommend you to use more videos to illustrate better your posts and these can be more interesting, and more colour in your blog for looks like prettier.

However, I think your blogs is good and very creative.
See you later.

About a movie: The way we were

Hello everyone!

The last time that I write something was in 2009. Now, in 2012, is really great re-write about me in a language that I like very much. I love movies, because it's possible to see different lifestyles, cultures, and create other worlds, like aliens, hobbits in a "fictitious" past of the humankind, magic things like floating things, etc.

Today, in the first post to the class, I'm going to write about a 1973 romantic drama that I really like because it showed me an interesting story about love, and how sometimes it's not possible to think in an eternal love. This movie is The way we were, starring Barbra Streisand an Robert Redford.

Katie Morosky and Hubbell Gardner met in college in the 1930s, but their differences are immense: she is a stridently vocal Marxist Jew with strong opinions about everything (in these time, her opinions were anti-war), and he is a carefree WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, a closed groups of high-status mostly with British protestant ancestry), and he don't have a particular political bent. She is drawn to him because of his boyish good looks and his natural writing skill, which she finds captivating, although he doesn't work very hard at it. He is intrigued by her conviction and her determination to persuade others to take up social causes. The two meet again at the end of World War II. Katie is working at a radio station, and Hubbell, having served as a naval officer, is trying to return to civilian life. They fall in love and marry despite the differences in their background and temperament. Soon, however, Katie is incensed by the cynical jokes Hubbell's friends make and is unable to understand his acceptance of their insensitivity and shallow dismissal of political engagement. At the same time, his serenity is disturbed by her lack of social graces and her polarizing postures.

Although they are in love, cotidian problems are very common for differences about life: Katie tried to Hubbell seeks a job far way of Hollywood, becoming a serious witter because he's skills to do. With blacklist and McCarthyism encroaching on their lives, Katie's political activism resurfaces, jeopardising Hubbell's position and reputation.

Katie and Hubbell decide to part when she finally understands he's not the man she idealized when she fell in love with him and will always choose the easiest way out, whether it is cheating in his marriage or writing predictable stories for sitcoms. Hubbell, on the other hand, is exhausted, unable to live on the pedestal Katie erected for him and face her disappointment in his decision to compromise his potential.

In the film's final scene, Katie and Hubbell meet by chance, several years after their divorce. There, is finally clear about their story: both are better by each other when are together but love is not enough if they try to live it with perfection and how each thing it's right.

My blogging experience...

English is now the international language, so it is very important to learn English well. We should study English in the correct way, so that we can make the most of the time we spend learning English. Discovering ways to improve their English is a problem which baffles many people.

I believe that what you put into blogging is what you get out of it. I really enjoyed the opportunity to have a blog, write posts and communicate with other bloggers this year. I look at blogging as a different way of learning, instead of sitting there in class with a book open, reading about how to write and how to blog. I’m the kind of person who actually has to get in a try something instead of read about it. I really think that you have to give blogging a chance, and by doing this, I have got a lot out of it. Although blogging may not be the style of learning that everyone likes, I have found it a really great experience. I remember reading a comment that someone left which said something like, “Your blog is great, but why do you write so much?” Well, the simple answer is that I have such a strong passion for writing, it is natural for me to write such long posts. Not many people are like this, but and actually do the opposite. They can’t think of anything to say and their posts are usually quite short according to me.

At the beginning of the year, I didn’t really understand blogs that much. I had never come in contact with one before, and I didn’t understand why we were doing blogs in English. I assumed that English was just learning about grammar and spelling, but as I looked into it more I began to realise that English revolves around us everyday. Communicating with people, understanding how other people live and basically “exploring the language we speak” is how I describe English. I have continued to write new posts throughout the year, and every new post has improved my writing skills. I have put the most into blogging, and have really got the most out of it. When I look back at my very first post, the length of the post was tiny compared to what my posts are like now. I can now look back and read all my previous posts, watching my writing grow, improve and become more passionate along the way. Blogging is truly a great thing to be doing, as long as you put a lot of effort into it.

Everyone has their own style of learning that helps them learn. Whether it’s reading from a book, listening to someone explain how to do something, following a picture or a diagram, listening to the instructions being sung out with music or building something that will help them understand the topic, everyone has at least one style that they know helps them learn well. Just like all these styles I have listed above, blogging is yet another type of learning style that some people prefer. I know that I’m definitely one of these people that’s learnt so much from blogging, but other people may not like this style as much as, just say, listening someone explain how to do something. It all depends on your personal preference to how much you learn out of blogging. I don't know, I really like this experience... Good bye!

My ideal job

At university, a professor suggest me a career working in public affairs. Later, I knew that the Meca of public affairs is in Brussels with Fleishman-Hillard, one of the world’s largest PR firms. I hope to be in ten years, after an MA at the College of Europe (Warsaw), to be in the European Parliament working for a well-respected member. All in all, it is pretty much my ideal job.

Public affairs consultancy allows me to continue my fascination with the politics and policies of Brussels, while seeking out why it all matters to the real world. As a consultant, I will be fortunate to constantly gain an insight into the inner workings of a wide range of organizations from global consumer goods manufacturers to air traffic managers and chemicals producers.

I love giving strategic communications advice on public policy issues to getting down to implementing advocacy campaigns on individual amendments to legislative texts. Every day is different and every day you learn something new, whether from clients, the institutions or from colleagues in the office and elsewhere in the world.

While the public perception of “lobbyists” may be somewhat negative, those who have worked in Brussels know that successful “lobbying” in the EU is an open process based more on the use of good communication techniques than personal contacts.It's very difficult to obtain this kind of job, because you must compete with many great sociologists and political analysts for a few jobs, it is also the difficulty of the language, and sometimes even europeans can be very racist. So I only hope that that the current drive for regulation in Brussels does not destroy what it seeks to protect and that work continues as it is today; professional, challenging and fun, at least until I arrive there.

Do schools kill creativity?

In English class, we had to watch a short film about how creativity isn't encouraged in children's learning.

Thanks Ken, that was a great presentation. I agree that children need to be able to explore different avenues. I find more and more young people coming out of the educational system who did everything right according to the curriculum but are basically helpless and need to be retrained on how to work. I am reminded of what Mao Zedong once said. He said that the most important person in the aftermath of a major catastrophe will be the guy who knows how to make the plumbing work.

I think we need to match young people to their talents and train them to be a success in their chosen field no matter if they wear a tie to work or not. We need to find out what people are best at and then help them achieve success and not just “educate” the heck out of them according to some general formula and then put them in a corporate pigeonhole.

What an excellent speaker. I particularly agree with his comment about the academic world shifting beneath our feet. We need a new system that better suits this new world we’re in. I’d like to add that schools are one thing, but also, it seems to me that regulations hinder creativity. Arts funding promotes certain types of creativity in favour of others and so acts as a kind of censorship.

My favourite subject

My favourite subject is Sociological Theory I, because is the basic knowledge for my future as sociologist. Teacher isn't bad too. His name is Octavio Avendaño, and is so practical, very clear and friendly to explain difficult and boried theories of classic authors of the sociology, even make them so interesting.

I like this subject, in first place, because I want to make Sociological Theory my specialization area, so it's too important undesrtanding perfectly classic theories. And in the second place because every process design of social programmes in Public Politics (which are considered relevant for overcoming of the poverty, central topic in government management) needs a classic theory for explain macrosocial behaviour and reasons of certain social fact, and, as the study of human social life, groups and societies, classical sociology theory is important, is a wide-ranging subject concerned with analysing social relationships and social institutions and the way in which they shape people's lives.

I have learnt a lot, for example, economical implications in human progress according to Marxist theory, religion as social representation and built by itself, german philosophy like influence in classic theory, laws and government institutions in modern society developmen, etc. I just want to conclude this semester to continue learning about sociological theory, but later it will be about the influence in other authors and in develop of sociology.

In five years?...

I don't know... I haven't thought really what do I want for the future, I mean, I just think now in pass my subjects better way that I can. But if I have to think about it, maybe the answer would be so simple for anybody. First at all, in five years, I will be done my undergraduate programme and its thesis (I don't have any idea about the topic of my future thesis). Then, I hope study abroad any MBA or PhD. England, Germany and United States are my options, for now. Sociology, Political Sciences, Economy and Law are my academic options to take an investigation topic.

Personally, I want to live alone in an own flat in Providencia or Ñuñoa, or anywhere nice and quite. It won't be bad come back to Belgium and make my own investigation about how people see religion and culture troubles. Also, it sounds interesting make an observation in the same theoric line that Pierre Bourdieu, a famous french philosopher and sociologist, who make a cultural survey, including social, cultural, economical, political and educational dimensions, and also describes french social structure through those dimensions.

The only thing that i really know now is that i want to finish my career, what happens after that i see him to his time.

The best is...

Karl Marx.

He was a german political economist, sociologist, philosopher, historian, political theorist and theoric founder of communism, political theory mentioned in his book The communist Manifesto (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/index.htm) and materialized principally in structure of ancient Union of Socialist Sovietics Republics.

His principal ideas are:


- The whole of what is called world history is the creation of human labors.
- Capitalist development prevents human beings from reaching their full potential asself-determining beings.
- Only when capitalists are overthrown, private property is abolished, and comunal ownership of the means of production is established by ab initial dictatorship of the proletariat can economic justice be achieved.

I like Marx because he was able to do and write what he wanted and thought, whatever society thought about him and his ideas. He lived in Germany his childhood and youth. Later he lived exiled in France, Belgium and England, where he lived until the end of his days, and published his major work: The Capital (three volumes are available in http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/index.htm). I admired his will and conviction in front of an adverse scene to his ideas. Also, he lived almost his life in the poverty and was socially rejected, because by his political position for him was very difficult to obtain a work, for what occasionally he wass obtaining small works with low salary.

In the future, I want to possess Marx's courage and conviction when my ideas are new and irreverent, and to be able to have my own theory about capitalist system.

My career: Sociology

Sociology is a relatively modern branch of academics dealing with human-social relationship. The study of Sociology involves the distinctive features of society such as hierarchies, classes, etc. As an applied field of discipline, Sociology encompasses a number of interdisciplinary fields like demography, criminology, environmental sociology, etc. So, I think I choose Sociology because is a good career if you want to combine different topics and areas of knowledge.

In the twenty first century the world is rapidly changing. As information technology, ecological pressures, and global transport networks transform our experience of today and our expectations of the future; sociology is vital to our understanding of the world, moreover, as the study of human social life, groups and societies, sociology is very importante. It is a wide-ranging subject concerned with analysing social relationships and social institutions and the ways in which they shape people's lives, so, Sociology is necessary for drawing up social programmes in Public Politics, campaign for themes considered relevant for looping alter social agreement.

Good sociologist should be open-minded person, good writter and reader (books that I must read are too complicated), versatile and improvisator, and is important speaking and reading very well english, which is necessary for reading many book without spanish translation and innovador researches made in Europe or United States.

In my career, my favourite subject is Latin America’s Social History, because let me know another vision about its culture and identity building like colony during three centuries and emerging democracy, well away from official history and prejuiced vision about our neighbour countries.

Sociology has several areas of specialization, but now I don't have clear what area like much than others.

A photograph that I like

A photograph that I like shows a beautiful sunset shot by myself in 2006, june 21th, the shortest day of the year. This scene is very common from my bedroom window in my house in La Serena, but just in summer, because in winter, horizon is diffuse and sky is covered for clouds. This picture was shot in winter! Where are the clouds? I don't know, but I'm happy with a beautiful photograph.

I love sunsets and I think all of them have something special, a hidden charm which make me apreciate every moments of my life, even if they are sad. The colours of this photograph are very beautiful and scene seems painted by God, a reason to believe in something superior to us, or, at least, admit how beatiful is nature.

Maybe I'm a good photographer, I don't know. Maybe it is the beautiful and power of scene itself which make great this photograph. Whatever I think (or not think), this photo reminds me the light of hope when it seems too dark and sad.

Take care!

My favourite web site

Hi!

Today I will talk about a career-related web site I enjoy visiting. I found it last year when I was working in a project, because I worked with a lot of theses and to borrow them in a library was imposible, so my teacher gave me this web site: http://www.cybertesis.cl/, which has important information and references that I need.

This web site also has links with other important universities in the world to looking for theses in those universities, and the information is not limitated by national bounderies or knowledge areas, because this web site has most of theses written in the last ten years in this university. I usually use this web site, at least twice a week, many hours when I use, because I don't have how to print too many pages.

To use the web site is easy, you must write an author's name or thesis title in the search bar, and inmediatly the web search start. An important thing is for use this web site, you don't need to have usersname or password. Knowledge is opened to everybody.

I hope you love this web site as I do.

Bye!

My laptop and I

My favorite piece of technology is my laptop, which was a birthday gift from my stepfather.

Laptop is used in the same way that a computer desktop, is smaller and its principal adjective is that it is portable.

I use my laptop all the time, when I'm in my house and when I leave. Besides using it in university when I have to do another work. Also, I take them when I travel, to have fun on the bus. My laptop is personal, but when I'm not at my house, my cousin Rafaella also uses because is very funny play games and also that it can use this even when in bed.

I love my laptop because is very entertaining and practical. With the Internet can browse through and where I want when I want. It's much more comfortable than my old desktop PC and is faster and has more memory capacity.

I believe that my life would be different without my laptop, and happen much more time at my house. I think my life has more freedom because I have a laptop.