English in my life

My father always told me that learn english could it be an advantage to my professional life. He was really interested in that, and I think now that he was right. In my school the english language wasn't very well teached, and a great part of the things that I know about english I learnt it at home, with daily activities, like seeing movies with english language and translating the songs of my favorite musical bands.

When I entered to the university I took the english test that left me on the pre-intermediate course. I realise that my knowledge about english wasn't perfect. In my first year I didn't take any english course. In the first semester of my second year I did "English 3", where I learnt a lot, not only words or grammar; I learnt how to talk and listen in english, at least better than in my school years. I remember when te theacher ask to us "What is more difficult to you?" related of course about our english skills, I said to my teacher: first to listen, second to read, and third to write.

Now I'm in "English 4", my last english course in the University, let's hope it's not the last one of my life. In this last course my efforts to get better skills for listen and read has been rewarded. I also learnt new words and new uses for it. I really hope it's not the last course, because I want lo learn more, maybe what's left to learn is things related with my career, more technical words to understand better the papers or in a future to write one.

I like to learn new languages, I always thought that learning other languages is to learn another way to think also. But the greatest experience to learn english is spend some time living in an anglo speaker country. Maybe the same University will give me this chance, with the interchange courses.

I feel ok with my experiences learning english at University, I really think that I'm learning, not like in my school time. I really think that I'm learning, not like in my school time. That is usefull, because now my sister wants to study something related with this language and I could help her.

It all began with the Three Wise Men ♫♫

Christmas, as I understand it, is the celebration of Jesus birth, a man who born two thousand years ago in Bethlehem (now in Palestina), and he was called "The savior of the world". Three Kings of orient arrived to the place of birth, guided by a shooting star. This three kings bring gifts to the newborn baby; gold, frankincense and myrrh. Since this moment people celebrate Jesus birth by giving and geting gifts. But now the people don't care about the Three Kings, people have in mind to Santa Claus when think about gifts.

I don't believe in god, but if a man like Jesus really existed, I think it is okay celebrate his birth, I don't mind if he is divine, or if he is God's son. I believe in his words, I think he was a very smart guy and I admire him. I would like to meet him, but I don't believe that this is possible, because I don't think that he is alive.

But I like celebrate Christmas, because I spend time with my beloved family, and I like to cook with my mom, we do delicious salads, with corn kernels, lettuce, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs and other delicious things, like meat kebabs. Also I like to see children happy with their gifts in december 25th's morning.

Sometimes I feel sad on Christmas, because I think about the materialism in the people. They are thinking in what to give or get on Christmas, but they don't worry about love, peace or Jesus. They don't even think about the Three Kings!! Maybe the consumer society has help on this corrupted idea about the Christ Mass.

My idea of Christmas is to give, not getting. The Three Kings give their gifts to Jesus, and Jesus (according to the legend) give his life for us. It is all about give. Give until hurts, as the priest Hurtado said.

Memories of childhood

With this song of Jim Croce I start this post related with my childhood. This song is part of my childhood, when I was a little girl. And I have a lot of photographs of that age, so this song is related with my post too.

My best memories are from when I was 11. I was doing many things at school, like learning some sports and learning to play guitar. I was too young and I had a lot of energy. I had good friends at that time, like my current best friend. Maybe I remember this age better than others because of the importance to me.

Why is so important this age specially for me? First of all by the things that I learnt, I was so curious, and the great part of my questions were answered in that age. Second because I learnt how to do great friends. And third because I realise of my potential to do many things, I thought I could be a great guitar player or a great sportswoman one day. This last thing was very important, because opened my mind to a perspective of my possible future; I fill up my mind of dreams!!

All this thing that I've been saying look like good things, but there is a little bad thing: I hadn't good marks on my tests. But who cares! Most of the time I spent it with my friends, playing guitar, doing sports, laughing and all the things that people do in their childhood.

With my friend we always remember this age like the most happy ever. I really think that this year, 1999, were crucial in my current life, because still today the most important things for me is play my guitar, to do sports and have a great time with my friends. I learnt many things, but first of all I learnt how to enjoy my life.

What we can learn from our hunter-gatherer ancestors

To go to the news

Today I'm going to talk about a news related with my degree: Archaeology. This kind of news is about global warming, and what can archaeology say or do about it.

The roots of this situation we can found it 6000 years ago, when the life style change, because of the best climatic conditions for farming. The archaeologist of this article says that he is more interested on the consequences rather than the introduction of this phenomenon.There are long-term consequences that for today are important too.

"Fields had to be cleared, fertile ground had to be maintained; there is evidence of sophisticated fertilisation from early on. Many common illnesses began to appear as people settled down, lived in larger communities, in close proximity to their animals, and dealt with waste and new foods. Our relationship with the world began to change; we could practise control, but not on everything"

A radical change of the life style also affected the life of the hunter-gatherer. They become farmers, and the population grow in an exponential way, farming underpins our society. It is important too the animal domestication the new innovations, like the ceramic, the Tupperware of the past. From the cave paintings of ploughs to the nuclear energy there is a way marked for our addiction to energy extraction.

The solution, says the archaeologist, is to become to the old hunter-gatherers lyfe style, but global population and changed circumstances make that impossible, we need to become more self-sufficient, not to be wasting energy without sense. Finally the author says that "climate change, resource depletion, food scares" are just symptoms, not the real problem.

What to do in Santiago

Santiago is Chile's capital. For some people is a beautiful place and for others an ugly city. There is a lot of things to do, the great thing is that are many activities for free, you can have a lot of fun without spending your money.There are typical places too, like the important hills as San Cristóbal and Santa Lucía. The Government Palace is a beautiful building to visit in a tour.

The people who visit Santiago could be foreigners from other countries or from other cities of the country. So the places to visit will not be the same, or the activities to do, because the interest are not the same.

But if I were a foreigner, I would visit this top five places:

- San Cristóbal Hill: A place with many things to do, you can walk, or run, cycling, make a picnic, visit the zoo, climb the hill to see the virgin statue.

- Fantasilandia: Is an Amusement Park, is the biggest park of Chile. Here you can have a great time with friends or family, sometimes some characters do public shows. Some attractions are for kids, and some for adults, so it is a good place to visit with your children.

- National Museum of Natural History: To know about our country, our earth's riches and our history.

- La Piojera: One of the most famous bar in Chile, here you can find typical drinks and foods of Chile.

- Rural places around Santiago: Inside de Metropolitan Region, but not in the big city. Some places like Pomaire, Isla de Maipo or Malloco. In Pomaire you can find typical clay figures, in Isla de Maipo the Wine Harvest Party and in Malloco the Oktoberfest, with a lot of beers to "taste".
I would recommend this places to visit, because I like it too much. So I invite you to do a tour considering this places.

I don't know much about the Mapuche conflict, and I think that just a minority knows very well what happens with Mapuche and the State. Maybe the TV information is not enough, or is not convenient for the State to show this conflict.

I think that this conflict is similar to the conflict in Spain with the Basque Country. They fight for the self-determination right, that is the right to ask to their people if they want to be an independent country. But Mapuche want more than this, they want their lands back and autonomy.

The bad thing is the mass media shows the Mapuche movements like terrorist acts, but they are fighting for what belongs to them. So they are treated like terrorists, and there is a law that is too old to judge their facts. The President a weeks ago says that we must change this law to solve the hunger strike, but he says too that their hunger strike is an ilegitimate way to protest and their facts has to be judge and punish.

I think that this law has to be abolished and Mapuches shouldn't be treated like terrorists. I believe that Mapuche people has rights, but the Chilean State has nothing to say or do about this, just give their autonomy and the rights of their lands, because Mapuche has been here before our State, they know how to rule their life, how to live and feed their people, they don't have the same needs that we have. They just want to live in a peaceful place.

Déjà Vu Movie

Déjà vu is a science fiction movie created in 2006, where an agent, called Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington), travel to the past, to avoid a big explosion that kills many people. In this travel he try to save a woman in special and falls in love with her. A movie of action and crime, but also about science, and one of the humans dreams: travel in time. This last idea was from the producers, and they worked with a theoretical physicist, the Dr. Brian Greene to do more realistic the movie.

Travel in time

In the movie there is a machine time, that at first could send messages in paper but not human beings or great things. But the agent Carlin thought that if he travel in time he could save all that people. He tried to change the destiny.

Paradox

Carlin dies trying to save people's lives when he go back to the past, but the woman didn’t die this time. However Carlin is in the new future, but he doesn’t remember the woman now.



If we could travel in time, what things we would change? Maybe there is a fate that we can’t avoid. Humans try to play god with someone else’s lives. Trying to rule everything, to have the control. But there are nature laws that we can't break.

Ireland

Ireland is my favorite country ever! Not only by their famous beers, also by their green hills and beautiful white horses.

I don't know much about Ireland, because I've never been there before. But I know that the flag has three colors; orange, white and green. Is a country in the same region of the United Kingdom, but it is a Republic, and their capital is Dublin. Ireland also is the name of the island where the Republic of Ireland is, and is divided in two parts; the Republic, and Northern Ireland, that is part of the United Kingdom.

The symbol of this country is a three clover, also is the symbol of the Saint Patrick's day (March 17th), the Irish national holiday, and here in Chile some places celebrate that day, and takes a lot of beers.

I like Irish music too, like the music of the band called Gaelic Storm, who is not a well know band, like other bands like U2, The Corrs or The Cranberries, because they are from USA, and play celtic music. In my MP4 I always have music of one of this bands.

I would like to live some day in Ireland. I think is a peaceful country to live your last days, have an extended land to explore riding a horse or walking, and to know more about their culture, their people and history. That's why my favourite country is Ireland.

The First Term

Sometimes I think it that the first term was boring , but there is always something to learn about. I didn’t played football, because I suffered a knee injury. I didn’t had good marks, because I feel stressed, by some subjects that I don’t like. I can’t remember a lot about the first term. Maybe somethings that I like, as well the Prehistory subject, things related with the first people on earth. Sometimes I wonder if I’m studying the right degree for me, and because of this subject I realize that Archaeology is the story of the culture and society since the first populations, and I think that is a wonderfull try to know how was that culture, maybe so simple, but not less important. I want to read a book related with this. The author of this book is Steven Mithen, and the books name is “The prehistory of the mind : a search for the origins of art, religion, and science”, I really want to know how they were thinking, knowing that maybe we could understand important facts of the human life. There is another book of the same author, called “The Singing Neanderthals: the Origins of Music, Language, Mind and Body”.
Things like this help me to realize that I’m in the right place, in the right moment, studying something that thrills me. I like to talk about this with friends and family, they feels that I like this, and feel happy for me. But has to pass some years to really know what being an archaeologist is.

Blogging like a tool

Blogging has been a great experience. First of all because I learnt how to express myself in English language, and this new skill allow me to know new kinds of words or concepts to use that maybe in Spanish I can’t explain very well. In my first posts wrote about what I was thinking, but in the last posts what I was feeling about the topics. And I developed this skill writing in my blog. Is an entertaining way to practice what you’ve learn, and learn new things.

I like to read what my classmates write too, because they have a lot of experience that I don’t know but are interesting too. Or some thoughts, feelings, knowledge or beliefs related with our career that I don’t know. Sometimes someone write about her childhood, and it’s funny because there are things in common with my own childhood.
Maybe we need more topics related with the career, like write about our opinions about articles or papers that known authors have written. Analyze that kind of texts will improve our knowing about what we are going to do after the University, and will get better vocabulary related with the career.

That’s a good idea to give it a better use to the blog. Because you can put photos or videos related with your writing, and is easy to do it. You can share it, comment and discuss about what you think about an issue, and what others think, that’s make a rich conversation, and allow you to know not only what other think about it; will let you prepare new points of view to argue to someone else.

Only write something is good, but if you can discuss about it is better; with this you will be prepare to do your own article, a stronger and well structured article.

NatGeo

What is NatGeo? It’s the common name used to refer to the National Geographic Channel, launched by the NG Society in September of 1997. I watch this channel by my satellite signal. To the Movistar service is the channel 352. Also it has a monthly magazine with the best images.

National Geographic has been in my life since I was a child. My father bought a collection of 40 books and documental films made by NatGeo Society. I’ve watched almost 30 films, but I don’t even read any book, I only like to see the photos. The documental films are about animals, like Lyon’s life in Africa, the Irish Horse, and Siberian dogs, they show places of the world like Serengeti, Madagascar, Alaska, Mexico and how the life is in these places. They talk about some historical issues like the Titanic, Humankind secrets, and also some scientific things like how the human body works, volcanoes and precious stones. They refer to a widespread kind of items related with our life. The books are the best thing ever. Mostly are related with beautiful landscapes. There is one that shows Chilean landscapes, in the south. It shows Villarrica volcano, Osorno volcano and a fisherman in a river.

Someday I would like to work for this society. I want to create knowledge at the same way they do. Take beautiful photos, or cooperate with my knowledge about archaeology. Maybe someday I’m going to win an exploration grant to work for NG Society, and publish to the magazine. That’s my dream. Maybe I can do something related with my country, showing to the world that in Chile we have a lot of things, spaces to explore, important archaeological sites, like Monte Verde that is controversial with the establish data for American settling.

"A picture is worth a thousand words"

This is more than a photograph, it's a symbol too. This one was the emblem of the Teleton to help the affected people after the earthquake. Involve many feelings and thoughts, maybe is not the most beautiful, like landscapes photographs, but I think that is the best image of our Nation after the disaster.
The photographer is Roberto Candia, he works for the Associate Press (AP) agency of Santiago, was taken in Pelluhue a day after the earthquake and tsunami. The man of the photo is Bruno Sandoval a craft maker of Talca. The day before the earthquake Bruno was in Laja and his house disappear because the tsunami. Then he went to Pelluhue to find his stuffs among the other things, and he found this Chilean flag, that belongs to Daniel Marín.
I like this photo by all the meanings that symbolize, a destroyed people, who wants leave the destruction, and stand up again. Maybe will pass decades to be like we were before the earthquake again, this image represents this feature of Chilean people, their strong. Sometimes I’m proud to be Chilean, because I know that my people will overcome the bad things, and this image, the flag overcoming the debris.
This flag has become important after that, even his owner Daniel manifest his wish to give it to Chilean soccer team, to take it to South Africa. I don’t know but maybe the players would play better with this flag, because they will be remembering us, remembering all that happen in this country, all the pain, this would be a reason to don’t disappoint the Chilean people. They have to show to the world that Chile is more than a soccer team; is a strong nation who stand up before all the suffering.

In loving memory of my Lady

I was nine years old when I met her. She was my neighbor's pet, the problems begin because my neighbor had other little pets, and she killed some cats. My neighbor said to me that their pets and the dog couldn’t live together. I asked to my father if we could keep the dog, and he said yes. She was a little dog with a few months, her name was Lady. The name came from Lady Diana of Wales, because my dog was born before her death.

She was a Siberian husky, who lived twelve years and five months. The first time she stay at home she slept inside, and in the middle of the night she start to howl, we thought that she was missing her old family, but in the morning we realized that she need to go to the bath in the grass. She were always too clever. She loves to run away when the door opens, even in the last months when she gets sick. But when she get bored to run she arrives at home and howl to us, then we were opening the door; that was her ring.

She died at January 16; she was very sick and old. I miss her, every day, when I look at my garden, she is not anymore. Sometimes I saw her in my dreams, that's beautiful, but then I wake up and I feel sad.

Don't just set goals, score them!

Everybody knows something about soccer, could be just a little, but I think I'm pretty good with my knowledge about it. I growth in a family too many related with this sport. My father played when he was young in leagues of “Cerro Barón” in the Valparaíso city, also my uncles and my father’s uncles played too. It’s a family sport. They were talented players, but not too much for being professionals. I also play soccer, even although is a sport played mostly by men.

My favorite team in Chile is Colo Colo, is the best one, although they don’t have the best supporters, they have twenty nine national championships and the Libertadores Cup. Sometimes I go to the stadium to see it, especially if they play the final. I see other countries soccer games, but just for entertainment, to enjoy the show.

The next week the Soccer World Cup will start, the Chilean team will play, but I’m sadly disappointed of it. Six years ago I was a fervent supporter of this team, but the last three years has been difficult, it's hard to believe that they could achieve important things. I’m happy of that they play again a world cup, but my hopes are not too big.

Is like Love. Sometimes I want to believe again, because they made me happy years ago, but it was painful to see them lose so many times. Now I’ll just see the matches like and spectator, not like a supporter, even although I enjoy screaming for my beloved team. Soccer and Love has a lot of things in common, maybe that’s the reason to be my favorite sport.

My Lovely A215 SP6806

Maybe those words on my title don’t mean anything to you, but for me...

On June 24, 2008, my father buys this laptop. I was looking for a good model, with more than 512 Megabytes of Random access memory (RAM), with large hard disk capacity and not too expensive. This one has 1Gigabyte of RAM, 200 Gigabytes of hard disk capacity, Windows Vista Operative System, a processor of 1.9 Gigahertz and the price was four hundred thousand of Chilean money.

At first was perfect, I could watch movies listen to music and play games, but nothing is perfect; I had compatibility troubles with the operative system. Some things did not work, but searching in internet, I learnt a lot about computers and things related.

The last month I learnt how to change the Operative System by myself, and I change my laptop OS to Windows Xp, because is stable (more than Vista at least) and it doesn’t waste too much hard disk memory. But Windows only for being Windows is not perfect. Someday I want to buy a Laptop with a Mac OS, or learn to use Linux OS.

The bad things is that I spend a lot of time looking for things on internet related with computers and their system, I want to know how they work, but I am a student too, I need time to study; I spend more than 5 daily hours on it.

Would be my life more difficult without it? I don’t think so. There’s always something in what I could entertain myself.

God Save the Queen

Queen, the rock band, plays the soundtrack of my life. This is a british band composed by four members, Roger Taylor (the drums player), John Deacon (bass player), Brian May (the "Old Lady" player) and Freddie Mercury, the singer, the pianist, and the genius of Queen.

The first time I heard this music I was four years old, a year later of Freddie's death, when my father bought his first CD player, and someone gave to him "The Greatest Hits I" of Queen.

From that moment has been almost eighteen years of Love ballads, rock, Opera, Waltz, Jazz, Blues, etc. I don't need anything else; with Queen my life is complete. I like all the music, but I do not know all the kinds of it, then Queen solves the problem, because this band show me a big range of music.
Freddie might be the person in charge of this. He was a genius on the scene, giving to the band this theatrical touch that characterizes it. Queen concerts were big shows.

Queen come to Chile in 2008, but with Paul Rodgers (Bad Company singer). I'll never forget that day. Has been the best show ever for me, were sixteen years waiting for something like that. I sang (shouted) to forget all my worries, and I cried too, when Brian May said "We're going to sing a song for Freddie", the song was "Love of my life", it was sad to hear this song dedicated to him.

Queen will always be on my personal music player, I love it, and I hope that this music never die.

The third way

Paleoastronautics it's a mix between archaeology information and some astronautics topics. On this website I found a lot of information about things that are controversially, allow discussions about what is accepted today for scientists, because some of this things are out of what theories say. There is a lot of speculative issues, like extraterrestrial ancestors, based on evidence of early civilizations and their art expression. I could find myths, unknown history, but also I could find scientific information on it.

The part that I really like is the museum, where some investigators have their own rooms, like the known writer J.J. Benítez who talks about aliens. My favorite one is the Room of Errors. It’s a room with some things that investigators called OOPARTs (Out Of Place Artifacts), but as you can see if you follow the link, there is a clarification about these objects, a better explanation, with the whole context of where this was taken.

Maybe it's not so clear if these things are true or false and about what they say about it. But we have to chose sometimes what to believe to interpretate what we are studying.

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Lets talk about something! Ok, my guitar :)

I play guitar since I was ten years. When I was in the school there was two optional classes, Music and Painting, and I chose Music, because painting for me was boring. So, I toke my grandfather's guitar to go on my class. In that class I made a group of good friends, that even now we meet to play guitar, and some of they learned to play other instruments.
I know many songs, but most important is to know a great number of chords, to play easily the new songs. I played guitar on the bus asking for coins to help with earthquake victims. Also I played to earn money for me, on little concerts. In the last weeks I couldn't play football because I have a knee pain, so I've been playing guitar more than ever, and I have a class where I teach for free how to play.

I hope the guitar will always be my instrument, I love it, and some people like to hear me play, is relaxing, maybe I could learn to play piano (I would love to), but my guitar and I have a beautiful romance.

Wonderful February twenty-seven

The morning of February twenty-seven I was with two friends in Pichilemu. I was going to the bathroom when the movement began. I thought that it wasn't so big, but in a few seconds I realize about the situation, then I dressed up and we go to the door. Someone told us that everybody has to be far from the beach and go to the hill. People were calm, that was good, and the emergency steps save too many. In the morning we heard that the big wave take a lot of handmade stands, some houses go down and two kids were lost on the tsunami. After that it was so difficult go home (arrive to Santiago from Pichilemu), because the panic spread among the people, but in the Monday noon I could see my parents and my sister, after three days without communications. The nightmare was gone.

Hello to the audience

Hey! I am Paulina, an Anthropology student of 21 years old at University of Chile, amazing, don't you think? Well, there is a lot more about me, but you will find it later, reading my blog.
So, this is an English language blog (but my native language is Spanish), you can read and post on it and some other things.
Welcome to my place, and let me entertain you!