Sports

Sports have an important place in our culture. Their practice helps us to improve our life quality, since they have benefits to our health. They also led us to share with other persons, and have some contact with ourselves; I like the “improvement spirit” that is necessary to reach the goals we set. Every kind of sport practice is courageous – people that use to play “pichanga” once a week, people that decides to wake up half an hour earlier to go to the gym, people that takes their bicycle and go to enjoy the nature, people that use to walk just for relax and enjoy at the afternoon and many others. And of course, people that practice any sport as a way of life, I mean professionally. I think that to be good or bad in sports has a lot of mental influence, perseverance, and self-discipline. That’s why I’m not agreeing with the idea that “spots it’s not in our genes, so we are doomed to be losers”. I think that if we are willing, we could get whatever we want, in every steps of the life – not only in sports. So we mustn’t give up too soon! I like sports, but I’m not interested on some particular one. I used to play basketball at school, and I was good, probably because of my height (1.73 m). Now I’m in favor of go to run, dancing or ride bicycle, and I’d like to practice swimming. I honestly don’t know much about national and international sport situation, I just know that, regrettably in Chile, there isn’t a real support to the sport persons, both economic and moral. On the other hand, many countries like EE.UU. has universities or other institutes that are famous because of their prestige in sports; so they are specially concerned to have a high level in sports.

September, a madness month

Hello guys: I'm pleasant to be here again. This time, I'll write about September, and all that this month involves for Chilean people. Certainly, the last years have been very strange: we couldn't forget the earthquake of 27/02, the 33 miners trapped underground for 3 months; and specially, the recent tragedy of the 21 persons who died on an airplane accident. Besides, this period have been characterized by student’s protests that made the last 4 months very special –I mean the constant fight for getting a better quality education and with fair prices. In spite of the pain, the anguished, the sadness and the sorrow, spring is here, with the Chilean festivity, and honestly, I think that we all deserve some peace in our hearts, and to feel the air, the nature, flowers and stuff. I’m sure that those little things in some way or other could help us to bring the serenity back. I like September a lot because the days are longer and sunnier. It is a good time to share with the family and friends, and if you could celebrate it with a good barbecue, a glass of wine and good company, best for you. See you guys!

The Blogger Experience

Hi everyone! Finally, the English course is ending. This last post is about the ‘Blogging Experience’. It was a good experience. I’d never written about interesting themes in English, so sometimes I felt like a journalist. Writing blogs was an interesting topic of the English course. I consider I have a solid base of English since school, but during University, I hadn’t the opportunity to practice the language. Clearly, this course was very useful because I could remember many things and learn even more about English. Writing blogs led me to get information about current themes that are happening in my country, and to specify it – with my personal opinion- in short phrases. I think that it was very useful to improve my English, since during classes we reinforce about connectors – the typical debility of my classmates and me. Even once, during classes, we corrected some posts of other students. Then, I could realized how difficult and tedious is to correct English blogs! That’s with I really appreciate the work of our teacher Lourdes, her patience and her readiness at all times. I think that the blog writing should always be homework since the beginning of the course, so we could use the time in activities more interactive, like we did the last class; we sat all in a circle and talk about polemic and interesting themes. The blogging experience in the English class has the advantage that forces you to read and write in English, and teacher is always there for you to correct or to solve your doubts; and the disadvantage that it takes time that, as I said before, could be better utilized by doing other English activities. Besides, sometimes you are busy with extra work, so you don’t find the adequate time and ‘inspiration’. Well, I say goodbye, and I hope the best for my classmates and my teacher! 

Transgenic Foods and their query

Hi everyone. Do you know what do we meant by transgenic foods? Well, these foods contain genetic material derived from another(s) organism(s), created through the techniques of genetic engineering. Transgenic foods ensures value for food production and improve the quality of seed grains, since there are higher levels of protein in forage crops, foods are able to tolerate drought and flooding, salts and metals, and cold and heat. By the other hand, it is known that the food over the world will not be enough to supply the people demand in the future, so it’s absolutely necessary to appeal to technologies tools trying to improve the situation. Consequently, some people affirms that transgenic foods are a kind of ‘human solution’.

However, I can’t ignore that the genes that are introduced into the animal or plant alters irreparably their genetic function and cellular metabolism, which can result in allergies consumers or can produce toxic substances such as alterations in their nutritional properties. Because there is not serious studies yet that confirms the eventual harmful effect of transgenic food, we have to ‘wait until something happen’, by eating these foods, wait 20 or 30 years and see what’s going on with our health, becoming real Guinea Rabbits.

Besides the health risks, the threat to the environment is even more worrisome. The spread of transgenic crops threatens the biodiversity of planet, causing ‘genetic pollution’, affecting seriously wild and natural ecosystems. Preserving the planet biodiversity is important because, in a way, ensures the survival of the life in the Earth; as more genetic biodiversity exists, there are more possibilities that best-adapted plants or animals could survive to a great climate change, for example.

So although these foods could be beneficial, we must be careful of the consequences it might cause. See you!

Student protests

Hi everyone. This post is about the manifestations against the educational situation in my country. This is a special moment in Chile, a time in which thousands of miles of students –high school and universities students- have decided to protest, because today, the education system in Chile is very unequal, since private education from schools brings the best quality education (and I don’t think that it’s the best education compared with other countries). The prices of universities (either public and private) are also too high, and if its true that today even private universities give the possibility to study with a credit, with Government support, students acquire large debts, and, in most of cases, they take many years to pay a professional title, a title that not always guarantee success and job stability. With the actual system, one of four students has to pay his/her career with the 40% of his/her salary during the next 20 years.

This situation started on the 80’s, when a constitutional change allowed the implementation of private universities. It supposed that they wouldn’t be profiting from the money, and they re-investing the profits obtained, but you all can see that today education is a business. I think that entrepreneurs saw, from the beginning, that this situation would happen and tried to get as rich as possible.

That’s why I agree with students manifestations. I think that it’s enough of abuse; it’s enough to being a spectator watching how big companies take advantage to us. Obviously, I’m not an expert on the theme, and I don’t know the ‘implementations’ that must be applied to make the Chilean education system more equal, but it is clear that Government must provide more economic resources in public schools and universities, just like an elementary decision.

In general, I like and support these new groups of people, that has voice and express its dissatisfaction about a theme about an issue as fundamental as education.

Photographs

Hi! Today, with all technological and social tools like Fotolog, Facebook, even Blog, we all have the possibility to expose the pictures we want and share it with our friends and family. Especially, I like those photos of beautiful landscapes and animals, which are able to capture a moment and transmit me good feelings.  I’m afraid that I don’t have enough patience to make those kinds of photos, but I have a friend, Bernardo, who can be still and silent for hours if it is necessary, in middle of nature, just to have a good photo of different animals. I always try to look his pictures and videos because they are really amazing. Recently, he bought a professional camera and lens. I think it is a good inversion for him, as he has taken advantage for it. He also offers the service to take photographs at marriages, parties and graduations, for a good price! Recently we’ve been on his girlfriend’s job, on a vineyard on Pirque, in a natural place near the mountains, at the south of Santiago. Stars looked beautiful, the mountains were white with snow, and there was a warm wind, typical of the area, called Raco. It gives a kind of special energy because it comes from the mountains, and drag the smog though the city. That day, while sunset, some friends and I asked him to take us some photos with that precious landscape, and they were nice. 

Here is a Berna’s picture, from the south of Chile, in Parque Nacional La Araucanía, in Volcán Quetrupillán, I consider it fabulous! You can see some of his pictures at the website:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bernardo007/

Enjoy it!!! 

Antumapu: The Land of the Sun

Hi! I am at the last stage for being an agronomist from the University of Chile. I consider myself very fortunate for studying at my Faculty, called Antumapu, which is a Mapuche word that means 'The Land of the Sun'. In Antumapu, students can appreciate nature in all its glory everyday. Antumapu is full of green areas, has much diversity of flora. Furthermore, there is a kind of little zoo on the Faculty. Who doesn't like to study, talk or eat, lying in the grass, feeling the warm rays of the sun? I really love it. Perhaps this is because my school was very 'green' also. From school I know some Mapuche words, and even once I witnessed a Mapuche ritual; just like in Antumapu, there is a Mapuche sacred altar, called 'Rehue' at my school. This is a stepped trunk, stuck in the ground, as the photograph shows. It symbolizes the connection to the cosmos. 

Well, once Rehue was finished, a Mapuche family went to my school to bless it, dancing and singing with many typical instruments of their culture, like Cultrun (the Mapuche drum), Trutruca (a kind of trumpet), Cascahuilla, etc. There were children, young men and women, and of course the old woman, called ‘Machi’. She is the most important member of the comunity. She has the power to wound healing and has a great wisdom. 

I’m proud of our ancestors, and I hope that their traditions are preserved and could be valued by society. I think that it is essential to us to know about our roots. I have a great respect to the Mapuche tradition and the nature, that’s why I like very much Antumapu, its Rehue and its green areas. I’m sure I will remember my stage school and university with a strong sense of belonging.