Chile 2010: What are your views on Chile's bicentennial year?

200 years of liberty, peace and stability, 200 years to grow up as a country and to be proud of all the achievements.  It’s a year to look back and see what’s wrong and right, the pros and cons of the decisions we had to made (as a nation) and to move forward in time thinking of all the good things that are coming.

But there is something that makes any sense for me. How far we really get since 200 years ago? Is it really something to celebrate? I am not sure about it. Poorness, the government does not represent the will of the people, a society that is afraid of express its disagreement because nobody hear it, bad education, and the feeling that anything had changed in 20 years.

I cannot deny that Chile had grown up in some issues but we still live in an inequal society managed by a few, so where is the people? Our beautiful country, does not really listen the majorities just like in 1810.  Even when we are a ‘democratic’ nation we cannot say people talk, not when the ruling class think more in themselves than anything.  They just do what they think ‘people needs’ not what people really need.  Believe it or not, we live in a illegitimate State, where nobody ask us how we want our Constitution was and when we told them, they looked at us as a ‘good father’ who does not take his children seriously.

So, what advance are we talking about? There’s a long way to walk, the bicentenary year was not as good as they show, not when many people are claiming fro lots of things and nobody hear it.  The authorities must be measured when they make this bicentenary balance, do not say we are the best of Latin-American just because of a few millions more in our economy, not when those millions are distributed in a bad way to increment inequality.

There is a very long way to walk, I said, to walk to a really celebration.  It is going to happen when we can see great changes, real changes, not just papering over the cracks as they are doing since the beginning. We need to realize that we are not as good as they say to start something really new. That is the challenge.

What would you do if you won the lottery?

To win the lottery is one of the universal dreams, I guess.  Everybody had dreamt of what to do with all that money between their hands, to help, to pay off, to buy lot of things, etc. But, what would I do? It's a pretty difficult question, I could say too many things! but the four main are: the first is to pay off de University and family debts and ensure my and my sister's education, I think it's an important thing because it's like a "life assurance" and it's about our future.The second thing I'd do is to give some money to all the people I love, because I think it's good to help when you can do it and much more if it's for people you love.

But, you can't waste all your money (and get wasted in parties and get mad buying things you don't really need) to win that much is a good oportunity to invest in some business like properties or something else so your money will be there, producing more money. Just make sure to check that the business is a good one! (I have to say that the idea of the invesment is from my dad, he always says that it's the key for not loose the prize in silly things)

Finally, I can't forget the other things I love: Social Sciencies, specially Anthropology of course! is known how difficult is to get financing for our projects even when the study is good to help some people. I would make a good one related to popular education or for beat poverty, it doesn't matter if it doesn't have a huge impact in society, but I see it as a beggining.

See ya'

A greenish life

Global warming is a topic since many years ago, but it seems like nobody heard about it. What are we waiting for? Our planet is dying for attention! everyday we live doing not sustainable things, throwing our trash with no care if it could be recycled or not, taking long showers and turning on every light we could even if we are not in the room. Those things are not friendly because we spend our resources as it’ll never run away.  It’s a selfish practice because we are not thinking about next people behind us, our sons and grandsons.

Our city is a good example for a not-green place, there’s no conscience about anything related to environment stuff, lots of cars and rubbish at every street, papers and plastic bags. But on the other hand, we can see some green campaigns like the reusable bags for supermarket purchases and anothers stores.  There’s also some of them that promote to recycle our paper, plastic bottles and glass or just resuse them for some creative thing.  But, we can’t say that our city is a green and great place to live in harmony with the enviroment, because we don’t see these practices as something necessary and important.  We need to understand that it’s more than a game and an alternative lifestyle.

Personally I’ve done little things to help this cause, like walk instead of getting the car, recycling the papers I don’t use anymore, like old copybooks or books and fotocopies! (this year I’ve fotocopied a lot), turn off the lights when I’m leaving a room and not wasting more water tan the necessary. By the way! Last week I’ve bought a pretty reusable bag for shopping!

Helping the environment is not a hard thing! You have too many choices to help, but the most difficult thing is to change our minds and turn them green, with a few green actions you can help the world: don’t throw your trash at everyplace you want to, don’t print or fotocopy if you don’t need to (there are books on the reference library and you can take them from it) and try to reuse all what you can.

Let's go for a greenish life! will you?

p.s: I've heard a comment about this from somebody, she said that the sustainable development could be a selfish thing, because we are those who wants to keep living in the world, but do we know if the world want us living on it?

If you haven't noticed...

From the inside of the land, brand new eyes were given to us, a new reality is in front of us, concentrated in 33 men in an terrible and, why not, sui generis situation.  Yesternight the last miner was rescued from the mine, after so many hours of hard work. 
As the past two months, the national press was there in the mine, recording every second and showing as a "special transmission" all day long, almost 24 hours.  The national feeling was totally on, but I think that the press and all the other mass media were over reporting on this, that's a lot of information about things that we didn't want to know, who cares about what they've eaten, spoken or how many times a day they breath! There's a limit between the notice or important things and their private life and I think it's important to respect it.
But, even if the press were blurrying all these situation, there's something we can't deny: the strength and restraint of the "boss Urzúa" the last one inside. He was always distinguished because of his ability and been a great natural leader.
Whatever the point of view you look at it, the reallity is that they actually have lots of profits, benefits and all kind of aids.  That's a good thing because of all their pain and it's a way to reward them for all those days of uncertainty, now they're going to travel to Greece, will be supported for the goverment looking for a new job and with all the help possible to go on, I hope they'll do it well. 
But, there's a point they/we should not forget in the middle of all this fame, because under the spotlights, there's the bottom of all this problem: the negligence of the owners of the mine (and many others like them). How many people is working in bad conditions everyday in Chile? How many employers doesn't care about the legal issues in their bussiness? How many people just like these 33 miners, are waiting for their money? for what it belongs to them? That's what should care right now, don't let go this opportunitiy from the tragedie! and let's talk about labor situation in Chile.
So, don't let the press come inside us with all those things that aren't the essencial point, the miners are more than feelings, more than first impressions about this or that, are more than personal life, they are human beings that need to work, eat and live without a camera recording every single thing they do. 

Santi...

I was born in Santiago and I really like it, I can't imagine myself living in another place, but I don't really know it very well. I'll give my best!
If you're in the town and you don't know where to go, you should visit the downtown, there you'll find some important places, like the Goverment Palace called "La Moneda", it is a beautiful white building & you can visit the centerfields too, it's a chilean symbol you can't loose.  If you want to know another historical buildings you can go to Plaza de Armas, it's a tipical square surroundend by the "Catedral", "Correos de Chile" and you can also find some artists painting caricatures and and pretty lanscapes and much more! You should go 'cause it's funny and has a variety of activities to choose.
If you like animals and wild world, "Cerro San Cristóbal" is your place. There you can walk up to the Virgin María, visit the zoo or just lie down on the grass.  If you don't like to walk a lot or you're just tired you always can take the railway or the cable car and take amazing panoramic pictures of the city.  Next to there, it's the "Barrio Bellavista" full of pubs, restaurants and another places you could party in; but if you like to share a drink or coffee or sth else in a peaceful and kinda quiet atmosphere you can go to "Patio Bellavista" where you can find another bussiness and window shopping some craftwork and souvenirs.
Finally if you love Art and all you want is to visit some chilean exhibitions, you have lots of museums, like the "Historia Precolombina" museum, "Historia Natural" museum and "Bellas Artes" museum, there aren't way too expensive and you could spend all day long there. Oh! by the way, you can go there by the subway, it's too easy!
So chose your place and let's have some fun in Santiago!

Visiting Italy :D

 I've never been out of Chile in my life but if I have to visit another one it'll be Italy, that's for sure. I'd love to go because of architecture, language, food and art... oh! And it's like a boot hahahaha! The things I know about it's because of its history, (it is impossible don't know anything about Italy!) and a few "tips" I've heard from my Italian teacher (she's Italian and she loves to tell us funny things about their lifestyle) just to say one: did you know they drink a so concentrated coffee in little cups? it must be so bitter.

I don't want to go for a few weeks like a tourist; I'd like to go to study for a year or maybe two at Bologna University.  I knew that an anthropologist were there as a student exchange and I would like to do the same, I don't know exactly when but I will do.

Considering that I'll be alone there I'll HAVE TO meet some new nice people and during the weekends I'll go to visit to Rome, Firenze or another cities by train, that's not so expensive and it's a great opportunity to see beautiful landscapes.  Another problem about going there for a long time is money! I have all my hopes in some kind of scholarship or something else but I should save some money anyway.  Thinking it over is really hard to go to another country when your own country doesn't have any exchange student program and cover all your needs as student... in Europe that do exist and I've talk to a German classmate who was living and studying here for free. 

That’s all, see you next week!

P.S: sorry for not upload this at time last Thursday, my internet was down after upload the first post.

First post ever

Let's talk about the previous semester.  I think it was so special because that was the beginning of my first year at college, new life, new people, new teachers, new topics; everything was entire new world to discover... Trying to move forward and change my mind about how academic things should be, I mean, I REALLY have to read and study (not the day before as I did at school, having good marks anyway). Sometimes I almost got mad about "things to do" that was really stressful! And made me think that I won't handle it at all, but at least I could! At the end of July I finally was having a happy winter holidays (so deserved, BTW).

Wait! last semester wasn't that dramatic, there also are positive stuff: I met new friends, added new things to my knowledge (I've learnt so much, more than I did last year, I guess).  Oh! and I'm learning a new language, Italian, and I really love it, I took that class because someday I want to go to Italy and study sth there (fingers crossed for me) I think it's a beautiful country with pretty places to visit.

Finally, looking back I could say that my vocabulary will never be the same, words like ethnography, functionalism, structure, status, society and (the most important) culture, are part of my life now.

That's all, four months in about 200 words :)