My English experience

My experience learning English at University was more interesting that I thought.
Making some history when I enter to the University at 2006 I did the English test to know what is the level of english that I must to curse. The results said that I had to take English III, but I didn´t take it until the first semester of 2010, my last year at University.
So my experience with English started just this year, I think that I hadn´t take it before because I wasn´t so motivated with the idea of take an obligatory course of English.

My experience with English courses during University was different that I expected, I think that it would be very borring and monotonous,but it was not like that. The english courses that I taked show to me that learn english could be more funniest that I thought.
If I have to explain what is the thing that I most like during english class was when we talked about our lifes, or the things that we believe or not like love or god for example.
I like a lot to talk about this things and I also like to make jokes in daily talks, and I think that during english class I could express myself how I´am but to make it I had dare to talk in english althought I talked wrongly, so If I wanted to talk and make jokes in english of course I had to make an effort. Making accounts I could think that this is a good way to learn english because I think that I improve a lot.
Another think that I want to metion is about blog, sometimes I didn´t like it because of the topics that we had to write, but in general blogging like exercise I like it. I think that one of the advantage of the blog is that is a different way to learn because it develop different english habilities that in another way or in the classic way to learn english (in my case in the school) it couldn`t been practice.

In general terms I can say that my english experience during university was good, better that I expected but If I have to conclude specifically with this second semester I could describe it as great, because I feel that I improve a lot by a way that I like, talking, talking and talking and also having a great time, laughing a lot and knowing different kind of persons. All the class must to have the kind of interaction that we had during english IV.

My way to clasifficate a good film

If I have to think when was the last time that I felt like hypnotized by a film, I think that it happened when I saw the movie Mary and Max. It is an animation movie made by stop motion technique, and it is about a friendship by letter between a girl of 8 year old from Melbourne, Australia, and a man of 44 year old from New York City. Both characters have in common that none have friends.
First of all I like this movie a lot because it is a very beautiful story, that describes the life by a real way that not all the people is ready to faced. In addition to the previous point I can say that this film have a lot of black humor which transformed it in one of the best movies I have ever seen.

To judge a film I look at its plot and character’s development.
Talking about what is first the story/the acting or special effects, I think that depends the kind of movie, but personally I prefer movies with great stories and great character’s performances than movies with a lot of special effects but without a sense story.

A bad thing is that today the most of films industry depend on money, so they make movies only to earn money forgiven that to make movies is an art, it´s an expression, it´s a message and it´s not a big business. I understand that directors and producers have to survive but they have transformed the film industry in a capitalism company where the most important thing is to be rentable.

In summary if I have to think what is most important in a film, a producer or a director, I think that both position are very important for a film development, everyone of them have tasks can not be make by another person.

I´m very green

Today enviromental problems have transformed in a very important matter, because If we don`t do anything about it the world don´t live to much more.
If someone ask me where to learn about environmental practices, I think that today there are a lot of sites to obtain this kind of information like magazines, books and websites like www.veoverde.com a website that I like a lot. There there are a lot of green solutions to live a life based on sustainable development.

Just this days I started thinking to put another trashbag in the kitchen to throw organic garbage. With this I want to do with my roommates a compost and put it in the garden to plant some things to our consume.

Also I try to use my bike the most that I can, minimum I use it 3 days a week when I go to my job. It is better than use public transport, you can save money, time and it is much more funniest.
I have never participate in an eco-organization because I don’t have to much time and I prefer to do something by myself.
Another thing that I usually do is recycling glass bottles and avoiding throw garbage in the street.

If I have to think what is missing in our Chilean society to improve this problem, I think that Chilean people have little conscious about environmental problems specially in Santiago where all the people know that we have big pollution rates and in spite of that the people continue travel one by one in these cars and continue polluting a lot our city.
The first that I think that we have to do with our society in environmental terms is to change the mind of the people around us.

Business scepticism for Cameron´s Big Society

Summary extract from http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/business-scepticism-for-big-society

Nick Hurd the minister for Civil Society talked about the difficult to promove the idea of Big Society in Business world. He explain about the necessity of the companies coperate to transfer power from politicians to the people.
Hurd said when he was ask about how this idea could be realized that the goverment is open to new ideas.

Jo Fox, deputy director of the Bigger picture at Sky, show some ideas about how Big Society could work, he talked about business relation with charities, but how he said If we want to this idea continue in the long period business people have to make sense about his employees and costumers. But the question is if the businnes wants to make this change.

Trewin Restorinck founder and chief of an enviromental charity talked about the risk of Big Society, he said that on of the biggest problem of this idea was that a greta part of the groups of civil society will be unable to satisfy his needs and probably will be excluded from this proyect and this increase the difference between rich and poor people. Against this affirmation Hurd said that this gropu of civil society have to be training to Big Society idea could work.
Another problem of this kind of ideas is like Uk studies shows that business that offer community support are not realized in the communities that needs most help.

Peter Madden, the chief executive of sustainable development charity Forum for the Future said that the idea of the business of cooperate with the society it would be a big mistake if them only put his attention on community engagement, he said that the most important thing that business has to do is create a strategy that give sustainbility to themselves and to the society.

A Chilean´s capital trip

If come here some foreigner friend I would take him to a lot of places, for this way I will show him how is Santiago´s life.
First of all I would take him to know San Cristobal´s hill because from his top you can see Santiago complety, as well is a very beatifull long walk full of trees and nature.
Later this same day I would take him to the Piojera´s bar, there he could know Guachaca´s life of Santiago, this is the name of popular culture in Chile. So in the Piojera´s bar you can know some tipical character of Chile, and drink with them some tipical drinks like Terremoto, Borgoña and piscola, also you can eat some tipical dishes like Arroyado´s sandwish, Sopaipillas and a tasty Pebre.
The next day it´s necessary to do something more relax because the trip of the last day provoque to someones some head and stomach ache. So this day it´s recommendable go to Santiago´s downtown walking trough the Forestal´s Park that is very beatifull. During this trip you must know the Goberment house´s called The Moneda and the main street of Santiago The Alameda.
Another places in Santiago that a foreigner must know is Santa Lucia´s hill that is the place where Santiago was founded and Brazil´s neighbourhood that is the place where I live, as well is a neighbourhood with a lot of history, a lot of old aristocratic´s houses and with a lot of pubs to enjoy Santiago´s night.

I think that all this places are necessarynto know Santiago´s life.

The Chilean Society

The actual Chilean society is bad in a lot of things, the money distribution is bad, the education and health that receive the people is bad and in general the society is very inequality in a lot of terms.

If I could make what ever I want in the Chilean society I change a lot of things, first I start changing the health and the education system, making that State takes care of them giving it a lot of money, so by this way I can abolish the profit, that is the main reason that cause inequality. With this reforms we are improving a lot so the people could get a better quality of life.
Second I create I new system of social prevition giving profits to poor families, by this way they could have a minimum floor to satisfy his basic needs.
If I have to compare the Chilean society with anothers I could say that comparing with Latinamerica and Africa Chile is better that the most of his countries but comparing with Northamerica, Europe and Asia Chile is worst, I think that this happen because the Chilean State don`t worried about a lot of things leaving that the Market takes care.

Finally I think that Chilean society is getting worse because we have a right political government so how them say they want to reduce Public Expenditure. They think that this is the better option to make grow the economy, but I think that this kind of measure only helps to increase the inequality in our society.

My favourite country

If I have to choose one country as my favourite to visit it, probably I would choose Spain.
I had never travel to Spain but I think that is a very interesting country because the people that live there seem very cheerfull, also I like the way of life of his people with a lot of food, wine and parties.
I think that I don´t know to much about Spain, and probably for the same reason I would like to visit it to learn more about his culture and his people.
If I would be in Spain I´ll go to "Tomatinas" party, it is a party that is celebrated in the Valencia´s municipality of Buñol, it consist in that the contestant throw a lot of tomatos to each others.
This tradition come up from a student´s row in 1944, and year to year was repeated until it became a very popular tradition, I think that is a very funny party where all the people finished cover with a lot of tomato.
I would like to study a postgraduate course in Spain, I don´t exactly in what theme but something related with social ciences and the modernization.
Perhaps some day I would have the oportunity to know this beatifull country.

My first term of 2010

During the first term of 2010, I studied my last subjects of sociology and now I´m very happy because I think that I learned a lot about how the society work.
Also during this term I become independent and I went to live with some friends to a house in Santiago downtown, in Brasil´s neighborhood. In our house lives 2 guys (including me) and 2 girls, they are my friends since ten years ago and with them I learned to live in community and to solve our problems talking and searching what is the better dessicion for the group.
We decided our things in meetings that we make every week.

Another thing that I made during this term was to play football once a week with some friends and now I continue doing this activity, because I feel very good doing exercise and enjoying a very good moment with my friends.
The last thing that I think that I learned the first term of 2010 was to make sushi.
I decide to learn this because with a house´s partner we want to sell sushi to earn some extra money.

Last If I have to say what was the most memorable moment of this term I say that it was the moment that we founded our new house and we decided to go to live there.

My favourite sport

My favourite sport is the football soccer it consists to kicking a ball with the foot in an attempt to score a goal. It is playing between 2 teams integrated ussually by the same number of members, it could be play between one v/s one or more.
Professional soccer is playing in field of grass and the teams are integrated by eleven players each one.
Other kind of popular football soccer are baby football that is played in a field of wood or cement between 5 members in each team and also the football 7 that is very similar but it is played by teams of seven players, only some rules vary in each kind of soccer.
Talking about football´s history, I can say that it was invented by the Englands at the end of 1400 but modern football soccer was cosolidate during 1800, and during the same century the first football soccer´s association was create in England, but the F.I.F.A (International Federation of Association Football) that brings together all professional football soccer federations of each country was create in 1904.

I like football soccer a lot because I practice from I was a kid, and I think that it´s a sport that cause a lot of passion in me. Also I like it because is the most popular sport and it could be practice by anyone, the only thing that you need to play is ball and another person that wants to play with you.

I practice football soccer once a week, I play the kind of soccer called baby football with 10 friends and we make the same teams every match, so we can practice and train between us.

Me at the Dalcahue`s Cementery

This photograph was taken at the Dalcahue`s Cementery a very touristic town of the south of Chile ubicated in Chiloe`s island.
It was taken by a friend called Lee Busel in our last holidays in febreaury of this year.
This photograph shows me in front of a tomb mades with a wood`s cross, it was ubicated in the final part of Dalcahue`s Cementery. I was looking to skyline when my holidays`s partner tooks me the picture sorpresive.
I dont remember the exactly date that the picture was taken but it was be between 5th and 10th of febreaury of this year, because during this days we were camping in Dalcahue.
I like this picture a lot because I was unprepared when it was taken by my firend and in spite of it I think that I look good.
Talking about the picture`s esthetics I think that it was very special because it shows the death (that generally is asociated to something frightening) in a very beatifull nature`s landscape with a lot of trees and plants. Also the colours are very beautifull.

Also I like this picture because it`s reminds me a lot of good moments of my last holidays when I visited a lot of beauty places like Puerto Varas, Puerto Montt, and a lot of Chiloe`s town like Dalcahue, Castro, Nercon and Cucao.

Like an extra information I can say that ever that I went to a small town I like to visit its cementery because the cementeries portrays the culture and the customs of the places.

My Hobby

For this month during 11th of June and 11th of July I have a new hobby it´s call South Africa´s Worl Cup 2010.
This hobby is about to watch on tv a lot of football´s match of South Africa´s Worl Cup 2010 independent who will play or the hour that it will be transmited.
I started to practice this hobby today in the morning at 10 am in the match between South Africa and Mexico, it was a very interesting match and the final score was an equalize of 1, but I think that South Africa deserve to wins beacause it plays much more better than Mexico.

From today I will practice this hobby everyday because each day until 11th of July there are very interesting football´s match to watch on tv, being the most important to me obviously Chile´s match (the 1st v/s Honduras, the 2nd v/s Switzerland and the 3rd v/s Spain) and anothers like Argentina v/s Nigeria, Brasil v/s Portugal and Dutchland v/s Autralia, etc.

I like to watch on tv the most football`s match of South Africa´s World Cup 2010 that I can because I enjoy a lot watching football players with this quality, ability, cleverness to drive the ball and the way that them make goals. As well the countries that are taking part of World Cup are countries that has the best football´s leagues but in the most of them it`s related to his incomes.
Generally the richest countries have better teams of football that poorer countries but in spit of this differences football is the better sport and World Cup is like a 1 month party.

My favourite movie

My favourite movie is The Big Fish.
The movie was based on the novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions write by Daniel Wallace and the movie was directed by Tim Burton.
The main characters are Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and anothers.
The argument of The Big Fish is about the way that Edward Bloom told the history of his life.
During the movie Edward go telling about his childhood, his adolescence and his actual life adding a lot of fantastic characteristics. The problem is the way that Edward told his history, it always make that his son Will get angry because he wants to know the real way that the things happend in his father´s life. The biggest Will´s annoyanse happend the day of his marriage because during the celebration his father told one of his histories in front of all the guest and Will fells ashamed and stop talk to his father during a lot of years.
When Edward is dying Will come back to visit him, and in this moment he realize that his father`s histories was not so different that the way that his father told.
I like The Big Fish a lot because this movie remember me the way that my grandfather told me the history of things that he makes during his life, he uses a lot of fantastic characteristic and exaggerations. When I was a kid I thought that his histories was true, today even though that I know that it was lies I continue enjoying it because now I know that my grandfather just wants to entertain me.

Alan´s Ipod

My favourite piece of technology is the Ipod. The Ipod is a mp4 reproductor that has a lot of memory to save music, videos, photos, files, etc.
I bougth ipod to a cousin one year ago, it had 2 years of use, but it was in very good conditions like it was new.
I use it generally to hear music and to save my university´s files.
I use Ipod every day, when I use transantiago to go home and sometimes when I go to parties and people wants dancing music.
I like my Ipod beacause it can save 30 gigabytes of music or another files, so I can have with me all my favourite music and also it have a lot of options, and it`s very easy to use, is like a mini computer.
If I don`t have an Ipod in my life, oh my god!!, my life will be much more boring because music is a very important part of life. In my case music is associated with good moments, music ever could cheer up bad moments and thanks to Ipod I can have my music with me all the time.

Purim a crazy festivity

Purim is a jewish festivity that is celebrated every year in Adar 14th (the 6th month of jewish calendar equivalent to february or march of our calendary).
Purim is celebrated in Israel to commemorate a miracle about the salvation of jews to had been aniquilated by a king of Persia in 450 b.c.

The way to celebrate Purim is wearing costumes, seending gift to your friends, and in the nigth the common thing is to eat a great banquet and adult people could drink alcohol until to not distinguish between goodness and evil deed and it`s legal for that night.
One of the most important simbolls is Aman`s ears (Aman was the evil guy that persuade the king to kill jews) this is a kind of cookie made in this festivity to remember the miracle.

In Israel Purim is very important because it`s remember values like give and to make happy to the people celebrating the life.

If I have to say why Purim is my favourite festivity I can say that is very funny share with the friends wearing costumes and drinking a lot to celebrate the life´s happiness.

My favourite sociology´s father

About all sociology`s theoretical I had seen during the carrer, who brings my atention was Karl Marx.
Karl Heinrich Marx was an intelectual and comunist militant borned in Treveris, Renania in 1818.

With Friedrich Engels are considered the main authors of the theory know like scientific socialism.

He studied to be a lawyer but he never practice because he decided to dedicate his life to write.
Marx wrote about a lot of camps like economy, philosophy, history, religion, etc. He`s recognize for develope a theory about social evolution based on the diferent mode of production that the societies have got.
Trought this theory Marx try to predict the end of the kapitalism, but lamentably he failed.

If I have to say why I like this author I can say that I like his way to analize the society because he try to look it from its totality.

Marx was a great theorical, he try to change the world with his theorys.

My favorite band

My favorite band is Bersuit Vergarabat, this is an argentinian rock band arised in the 90´s.
Bersuit mix rock with latinoamerican´s genres like cumbia, tango, ska and candombe.

Nowadays the band is integrated by Gustavo Cordera (voice), J. Carlos Subirá (keyboard and voice), Carlos Martín (drums), Oscar Righi (guitar), José Cespedes (bass and voice), and anothers.
They have at the moment 10 albums, the most mentioned are "Libertinaje", "De la Cabeza" and "La Argentinidad al Palo", but also I Like a lot "Hijos del culo".
Bersuit is very famous in Latinoamerica, they have been in Chile a lot of times and I went to see them every when I can (more than 4 times)

If I think why Bersuit is my favourite band I can say that I like a lot his letters that talked about angainst the political system and the actual society, and also I like his romantical songs.
So I say that this band talk about every great man want to heard.

The Earthquake

That night of march 26th I was in Santiago, I was preparing a travel to the Cajon del Maipo with some friends, it was 1 am and we still talking about the last details of the trip that we start the next morning.
Later everyone went to his home, expecting to get together the next morning to embark on
our adventure.
I was getting asleep when all started shaking, I have never feel something like that, it was my firts earthquake, luckily my and my family was allright.
Later as soon as I talked with my trip partners to know that them and their families was ok, and obviously to postpone the trip.
The next morning was a black morning a great part of our country was destroy.
After that night I learned that unforeseen event caused by the nature could been much more stronger that unforeseen event caused by men.

Welcome to the Jungle

Hi, Im Alan guy my university`s nickname (shico Alan mi sobrenombre en la U), welcome to my blog.
I`m 23 years old, I`m studing Sociology in 5th year, the last one.
I hope to learn a lot of english during this year, and publish my english learning in my blog.

It`s Friday`s afternoon so I leave now, bye and enjoy your weekend.

pd: see in the grasses