My experience learning English.

This is my first and last English course that i have during these 2 years at the university (i hope i don't fail this course!!!). I've always wasn't good enough to speak, listen, read or write in English, but not bad enough to have panic to do those things. I have some problems like syntax of English when i'm ordering my ideas before i speak and more than anything the pronounciation of words, and they've been surrounding me since i was learning for the very first time this language. But, now that i'm more conscious about learning a second language and how important is to me to my professional career, i'm getting better as days pass by and this course, English IV, has developed my syntax and improved, without a doubt, my pronounciation, by the activities in classes and the blogs, especially!

This semester was the very first time that i feel confident with my knowledge in English and, paradoxically, it has been the semester that i've received most critics and i've felt that i don't know anything!! But, for me, that meant to be a golden opportunity to rebuild my skills and to grow my self esteem when i'm talking in English, which in my opinion is the most important part about learning English and the less checked aspect of the courses of English in our education. Me and almost everyone of the students of our country have not the confidence to speak English because we are more capable of reading and writing in English than talking in it. That's why to improve our speaking skills we need to talk in English!!! It's the most basic way to communicate ideas, and i've been using a lot this practice to use English outside the class and because i want to be a professional that speak English fluently, and that gives me something "extra"!! I can go to other countries and talk with people from all over the world!

Changes to my study programme

First of all, i have to admit that my study programme needs a lot of changes because there are things that are unnecessary and things that are missing. Mostly, here in the EGGP, there's a lack of infrastructure and a lack of quantity of technology devices that contribute to a better study for all of the students that are part of this school (including me).

The actual building isn't enough for around of 700 students that are part of the EGGP, number that will increase due to the addition of a new career that the university will give in this building: Political Sciences.  Considering that next year will be full of people, because this new career will bring 40 more students, and now the building is struggling to give an ideal place to study, to entertain, to relax, to eat; basically, to give people a comfortable place to live. Financially, as a institution, we depend on what INAP (Instituto de Asuntos Públicos) have to spend and the problem is that it is a low amount of money, in comparison to other departments of the university like FEN or FCFM, thus INAP can't afford more technology devices or a better infrastructure.

About the career and their curriculum, it's also pretty disappointing but can be improved. Our curriculum have a bad design and isn't the best way to guarantee that all the students have what the institution wants to all of them when they graduate, mainly due to two things: academic freedom and the curriculum itself and their subjects. Academic freedom makes that teachers can do whatever they want, and this is a double-edged sword because sometimes it can make the learning and the revision of some topics easier to the students in order to teach better, but that's too subjective that teachers understand this as they want and usually it doesn't work!! And, about the subjects, they repeat semester by semester!!! It sounds funny and unrealistic but it's true, and i have confirmed that with older partners that are in 3rd or 4th year (i'm in 2nd). Definitely that wasted time can be used to learn other things that are really important to our career like ethics or interpersonal intelligence.

My opinion about...

Today i have to give my opinion about some different topics that i've been asked. I choose to answer about legalization of marijuana and other drugs, hooligans, recycling and tattoos.

Marijuana and other drugs:

I've always thought why people can't see that marijuana is less harmful and dangerous than legal drugs like alcohol or cigarettes that literally "kill" people because of the excessive consumption of these. Also, marijuana helps people with illnesses, people with insomnia and to relax. About other drugs i have a different opinion because i will never legalize cocaine or heroin, but the legalization will spoil drug trafficking and all the bad things that involve it.

Hooligans:

Going to watch sports it's an activity that everyone must enjoy peacefully and politely. Violence is something that musn't be in different spaces where people coexist, and also it brings horrible things like injured people and chaos. The final of Copa Libertadores of this year it's a true example of the terrible consecuences of the actions that hooligans do, with the final match relocated to Spain (which is something unacceptable)

Recycling:

It is important to take care of our planet. We can't go to another place and we haven't explored other planets to go if we want to leave the Earth, so we must have awareness about the environment or we will die!! It's necessary to make actions that contribute to the environmental care because there's some habits that are harmful, and we don't know that.

Tattoos:

People thought that tattoos is something that gangsters or burglars have, and i think that's a lack of respect to some honorable people that have tattoos on their bodies and don't make bad things. Everyone has the right to make whatever they want with their body and it's a pretty bad thing judging people because of the mere fact of having a tattoo.

What i like to watch

I'm not a fan of series, movies or audiovisual content, i prefer to do other things. But, it's unavoidable watch something when i'm tired, when i can't move from my bed when i'm ill or just when i'm with my family or friends that are movies/series enthusiasts. Due to the last thing i've mentioned, i've watched some cult movies and series like "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Mulholland Drive" (that is considered by the BBC as the "greatest film released since 2000"), "El secreto de sus ojos", "Breaking Bad", "Game of Thrones", and other ones, but even though i've liked and i've appreciated their quality, i've never hooked up and turned into a movie fanatic or a series fanatic.

Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" is a masterpiece. 

Although, as i also mentioned before, i love to watch videos on Youtube and one of the things that i love to watch it's some TV show that almost everyone knows: "En su propia trampa" of Canal 13. Yes, i'm in love with "Tío Emilio" and the way he deal with the "malulos" and "malulos" that are the principal actors of every chapter. I know that Canal 13 broadcast on TV the chapters of "En su propia trampa" every Sunday night, but also they upload the entire chapter to the Youtube channel of Canal 13 aswell as the highlights of the different chapters, so i always go to Youtube and search the latest video of "En su propia trampa". I love to arrive home, prepare something to eat or grab from the fridge something to drink and put videos of "En su propia trampa", laughing with the behaviour of the criminals that appear and the things that "Tío Emilio" and his staff do to exasperate the delinquents.

"Tío Emilio" recording a chapter of "En su propia trampa"

I've heard that in Japan they're loving this TV Show, and i understand them. It may be something that old people watch, or that "Tío Emilio" don't face the truly criminals like politicians and rich families, but it fulfills my necessity of entertain myself and entertain people.

The 2 places where i like to kill time.

Well, i think i have a lot of places that i visit when i'm free of any responsability. I really don't have a list of all the places where i kill time, due to the many places that i had visit and located in different cities so, because of that, i will talk about the two places that i think are the places i like the most to visit.

One of these places is located in my hometown Concepción, and it's the beautiful campus of the University of Concepción. It's just one big campus, that concentrates all the careers that the university offers to the people so it's possible that if it is your first time visiting the campus you can get lost!! You can just do whatever you want, obviously not everything you want, except for drinking alcohol or stuff like that, because there are guards that are watching this. Also, the buildings within the Universitiy of Concepción are pretty beautiful like "Campanil", "El Plato", the forum or "Biblioteca Central".

University of Concepción

The other place that i love to visit and for that reason it occupies a part of my heart is the backyard of the EGGP. It's not as beautiful as University of Concepción campus, but it has an emotional component because of the friends i've done there and the time i've spent there, making the backyard my favourite place to kill time, by far.

Postgraduate

Recently, there's an idea stuck in my head that makes me like the topics about descentralization. With this topic my geek part flourishes, and i truly feel that i'm studying the correct carreer for me. It's one of the subjects that public policies can make something to improve the comunication and optimization of the paperwork and the development of our country. 

About my postgraduate studies, i want to study and improve my knowledge of descentralization that i will have in the second semester of 3rd year, in the course of "Descentralización". I'm determined on being a contribution for the welfare of the people that lives here, for me that's someting i want to do for the rest of my life and a job that i will be proud of.

I'm not sure where i will study and i have never thought about the idea to study abroad. I think about this seriously about just 2 months ago!! I'm quite sure that now i don't have clear the right choice, and that's why i have to interest most in papers of descentralization and in publications of academics that investigate and have the same passion as mine. I don't care about how i would like to study too, i will be passionate with this all my life!!!

Also, i don't forget that i have to improve my fluency in English and other language, because i like to learn languages and it will be important for my working skills.

The best holidays i've had.

In my life i've been fortunate of travelling to different places with my family. We travelled to top destinations like Buenos Aires or San Pedro de Atacama, with a long stay (like 1 or 2 weeks) and my parents paying for my whole family, ergo, for 5 people.

That can make me a fussy with my answer about the topic of this post, but i have my favorite holidays of all my life and, also, the last holidays i've had with my family and the holidays i miss the most. I and my lovely family went through almost all the south of Chile, departing from Concepción to visit gorgeous cities like Valdivia or Puerto Varas!!! And crossing the Austral Road, knowing landscapes that i'm pretty sure i've never seen as beautiful as theirs.

Puerto Varas.

Then, we've took a ferry from Chaitén to Quellón to go across the Chiloé Island and going to the wonderful churches and eating for the very first time some delicious food like milcao or curanto. I've trully never had been so well and happy, every little thing was fantastic and out of this world!!! I'm not exaggerating, i think everyone is agree with the fact that the south of Chile is one of the most beautiful places in South America, and i think of the world... or not?

Ferry Chaitén-Quellón