My blogging experience

Nowadays, people use internet specially to interact with other persons. Many web pages like facebook, blogger and tweeter are really popular in this way, receiving millions of visits any day. This kind of web sites offers the possibility of chare experiences and opinions, even with persons in other countries and with other languages. However, blogs are different to facebook and tweeter because allow writers to express their opinion in a more extensive way. Also, comments in blogs create an instance of arguing between the writer of the post and the readers around the word. In this English class, the students had the opportunity to use this kind of sites to practice writing and use of vocabulary. Every week, we must create a post about a certain topic given by the teacher with a specific quantity of words. Now I´ll write about my blogging experience in this semester of classes.

I really enjoy this matter of blogs. I already have a blog in Spanish, and I write in it every time. I love writing in Spanish, so the idea of write in English was really interesting to my since the beginning. Now with this blog in English I could experiment with another language, and get rid about my ability in English grammar. Although I had some mistakes in conjugation and vocabulary, it really helps me to improve my English and to express myself in ways that I had never imagined. The English blog also helps me in my speaking, because now I can keep a fluid and natural dialog in this language. I know that I`m better in English now and I could talk in English without fears. Someday, a foreign person left a comment in one of my posts. I think this is proves my improvement in this topic.

Of course, blogging has pros and contras. The advantages of blogs are, as I said before, that you can practice your vocabulary and grammar. Other advantage is that teachers and class mates could help you leaving comments in your posts, so you can figurate the mistakes immediately. In the other way, the principal disadvantage is the time limit. In some cases, the students couldn`t write the idea because we have 90 minutes to write all the post. The time limit makes people to think quickly about the topic of the post, forcing you to synthesize your ideas.
Personally, I think the advantages of blogging are more important than the disadvantages. I really promote the blogs as a way of practice. As a recommendation, I suggest review all the post after you write it. Also, dictionaries are really useful when you have doubts. Finally, try to write your ideas in a simple way. This will help the readers to understand your ideas correctly.

My future

I want to be successful in everything I will do in the future. Now I will study really hard to get an assistantship the next year. That will be really good for my curriculum.
I want to take two specialties when I finish the first two years of career. At first, I want to be a social anthropologist and get a good job. Later, I will take the physic specialty of my career. I wish I could study linguistic anthropology, but that specialty is exclusively for this country. Perhaps I could take some years in USA to study this subject.
I`m not fan of the idea of getting married. I hate little children (I`m not a patient woman) and I`m not so good at domestic homework. Provably I`ll get marry someday within the future, but I don`t want to be the “traditional housewife”. I can`t be like that.
I really want to live alone some years in my own apartment. I want to buy a big apartment in Lastarria, which is my favorite neighborhood at the moment. It`s fun because I can imagine myself in the future doing the same thing that I`m doing now. Probably I will spend hours playing the guitar and drawing sketches in my notebook, with the difference that I will need money to pay my bills.
At the moment, I`m doing my best in all my tests not to fail any subject. I think the only way to get my dreaming future is by studying. It could be difficult, but it is the only way if I want to be a good professional. My vision of my future could change in the next days, but I`m sure that I`ll need to study.

National geographic "Afghan Girl"

(left: 1985 / right: 2002)

This photograph was taken by Steve McCurry for the cover of the national Geographic’s Magazine. It shows an afghan girl who was forced to leave her home in Afghanistan- at that time she was 13 years old –, after de soviet occupation in her country. It was taken in the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan, because the soviets had killed her parents.

Even though the photographer didn`t know the name of the girl, he published the photo in the cover. It became the most memorable cover of the magazine.

In 2002, Steve McCurry went back to the ex refugee camp to find the “Afghan Girl”. After several interviews and stories about her, he found this girl`s neighbor. Some days later the neighbor came back with the Afghan Girl`s Brother, who could finally guide McCurry to the real girl. The name of the woman was Sharbat Gula, and she was a 30 years old lady now, but she kept her characteristic green eyes. Her identity was confirmed using facial recognition tests and biometric studies, but as Steve Mc Curry says, he recognizes her at first time. He helped Sharbat paying the education of her children and her trip to Mecca.

I really like this photograph because the intensity of Sharbat`s eyes, and her eyes didn`t change through the years. I think if Steve McCurry takes another photo in 2010, we could see exactly the same eyes. I like this photo also because the color combination between the cloak and the green background. It fits perfectly with the intensity of her green eyes, and even with her color skin. Finally, the illumination was perfect to show all the details of the photo.

Criminal laws

I don`t think the capital punishment is a good solution, because this method is focused in "eliminating" criminals, not the delinquency.

The pro of capital punishment is the efectiveness in persuading criminals, because this method threat people with dead in case they commit a crime.

The principal defect of capital punishment is the moral aspect of the method. This aspect has generated many discussions between defenders of the capital punishment and people who think that this attempts on the human life.

I think the cause of criminality is the hight rate of inequality in the country, and also the low access to education in the case of poor people. This last reason is the most important for me, because with a good education it is easier to get a good job. That is the reason because I think the government must improve education and the access to it for it to reduce criminality in Chile.

Fortunately, I have never been victim of a crime. My family sometimes have been victim of pick pocketing, but only because they are absent-minded.

My favorite piece of technology

My favorite piece of technology is my I pod Shuffle / mp3. I got it when my dad won a price in his work, so he give me the mp3 due to my marks at school, when I was in 1°Medio.

I use my mp3 very often, once a day minimun. I use mi mp3 in bedtime, because music helps me to sleep better. Also, I use it when I go to long trips in the road. It´s pretty usefull because it makes my trips more funny and short. I usually change the music in the mp3, beacuse it has only a few megas of storage. Because of this I always need a "greatest hits" list to put in my mp3.

I like it because is small and easy to use. I also have and mp4, but the window is too big and I cant carry it safelly in the street. I cant imagine my life with my mp3. Music makes me happy and full of energy every day. The only problem is when I listen to music too loud, because de battery get dried more fast. To evoid that, I always charge the battery in my pc with the usb port.

My best friend

The name of my best friend is Constanza García. We were in the same school until last year. She has been my best friend since about 3 years ago, because when she arrived at the school we didn`t get along well. We begun our friendship when I sat next to her in the classroom, so we started to talk more often.

I consider her my best friend because we share a lot in common and we laugh at the same things. We can spend hours talking about everything in this world.

I don`t have a "best memory" with my friend, because any moment with her is special. I specially remember when we share room in the hotel in a trip to the south of Chile. That was a funny moment that I`ll never forget.

Although we can`t meet so often because we leave the school, we try to get out together. We usually go to providencia to buy some clothes, or even to walk and talk about our universitary lifes. Last saturday I went to her birthday party, and I had a very good time with her and the other pals.

Clifford Geertz

I`m not fan of any antropologist because I`m just in the first year of my career, but I`m really interested in Clofford Geertz...

He is an american antropologist who was born in San Francisco (United States) in 1926 and died in 2006. He was a teacher of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton University. He was also a member of the Antropologist society in Chicago University, and he recived an honorary doctor degree at Bates College in 1980.

Geertz is the principal exponent of Symbolic Antropology. This theory says that antropology can`t make general laws for human behavior, and culture must give sense to the world and make it understandable. Clifford Geertz also says antropologist must try to interpret the characteristic signs of each culture. For him, the only way to study the human behavior is by observation and experience. His investigations are about topics like religion (especially islam), economical and politic development and familly life in diferent villages.

I like this antropologist because he states a qualitative style of investigation. He explained that antropology can`t be studied by laws and general rules, and the importance of context interpretation.