ENGLISH LANGUAGE CHALLENGES

We are daily exposed to English from different sources, and learning this language in a formal context such as university classes is definitely a plus to improve our levels.

In my experience, learning English in university has been a challenging process, especially considering regular exposure to oral activities in groups. I think speaking is one of the hardest things to learn when you are not living in an English speaking country, and practicing these skills every week helped me a lot to trust myself and develop new skills.

Regarding the aspects of my English that I need to improve, the first thing is the vocabulary ... There are many words that I do not know. Also, my fluency in speaking it is an element to consider... I think those are the most important things that I need to improve. I plan to do this by watching series and video clips and repeating their dialogue and lyrics (I really like to watch Netflix and Youtube, so it will be a daily job that I will enjoy).

Outside of English class, I really use English in my daily life. Every day I listen to music in this language! I watch interviews, series and films in my free time that involve English very frequently, and also, it is very common for some university subjects to challenge me to read papers and documents in this foreign language. So ... I have no escape!

This course has really been a support in my learning process, and I really appreciate it!

CHANGES TO MY STUDY PROGRAMME

I study Engineering in Renewable Natural Resources, and I absolutely believe that there are some changes that we could apply to our study program, just to improve the quality of our education.

Although this career provides us with a high-level education, I suggest changing gender roles through university positions, from the top down. I think it is important to apply gender quotes not only in technical positions, but also in senior positions in our faculty. Even if we are an environmental career, gender and culture are also important.

I also recommend that practical activities have a more important space in our curricular programs. In this types of careers, we need to have a constant practice of our professional duties as soon as possible, and the prioritization of theoretical classes by the pandemic context has revealed the importance of the skills that we only develop in the field, or perhaps, with physical facilities. In these contexts, it is very useful to access faculty facilities such as laboratories, better libraries or more computer systems.

We need to incorporate interdisciplinary subjects from the 1st year of studies. Today it is important to be more flexible and open-minded to different perspectives and disciplines, and the typical way of thinking about our profession (as a logical and rational way of thinking) limits our flexibility and adaptability to different contexts and situations. Why don't we have written Expression subjects? or Political subjects? This is important, considering that our career manages environmental resources in a country where nature is considering as something of high value (from an economic perspective).

TIME TRAVEL TO THE PAST or TO THE FUTURE

Sometimes, I imagine the world before the globalization process and the big cities had transformed it ... Doesn't that make you curious? How tall were the trees? What kind of flowers would be here today?

This idea always crosses my mind when I walk through cities with many buildings... So, if I could hace a time travel experience, I'd like to travel back in time and discover Santiago de Chile before any human has populated them. It would be fantastic to travel back 300,000 years, just to know how nature and wildlife were like before the humans had transformed the territory.

 I would like to go to this place with an adventurer who knows how to survive in a world without technology, and also with a photographer who tries to register those incredible images . In addition, it would be great to visit places that I know today, such as the San Cristóbal hill, the center of Santiago, or the Mapocho river, just to compare those landscapes with my memories. I'd love to know the plants and animals that populated this place. 

Although I am very curious to travel to the past, I think I wouldn't want to stay there for so long ... Life it would be difficult without all the inventions we have today. 

My future job

If I close my eyes and think about the type of job I'd like to have, immediately comes to my mind a wide landscape and a wild wind ruffling my hair ... Isn't it exciting ?. The decision of studying my actual career (Engineering in Natural Renewable Resources) it was taken thinking about that image.

One of my biggest dreams is to travel around a lot of countries and discovering new landscapes and cultures, and that means that an outdoor job will be my ideal way of working at the future. Even though I'm not 100% sure about the particular work I'd like to do, I have some alternatives in my mind .. First one, being a documentary filmmaker is one of the most attractive ideas ... It will be amazing to document and record stories about the people, and their relationships with the environment. The second one it's to work in ecological restoration in situ, using my hands helping to regain a state of balance in nature. It's hard to choose between both, but I hope to mix them at the future. And at last, but not least, there is a third job I'd like to do... I'd like to work in video-dance projects, either dancing,acting or directing (Like DV8, a team of artists that record stories using the dance and drama expressions ... here's a link of their work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMbuynAM1sE ). 

Even I have clarity that I'd like to work in a independent way, I wouldn't close myself to other opportunities. Whatever, I hope to get use of my abilities and potentials, like expressing different knowledge about natural sciences with my communicative skills. 

Here are some pictures about documentarism, ecological restoration and physical theater / video dance.

Art

Hi everyone! Today we will talk about Art, specially about visual arts. Even thought I'm not an art expert, this expression way evokes me a genuine interest. And not only because of their technique and history, but also because of the energy and creativity that helps us to manifest. One of the main reasons that make me enjoy art is the freedom and liberation states that art let me experience. I like how it feels the trance of manifesting our unconscious desires and feelings, and when you have the ability of expressing those signals it's so much better... Regarding to my artistic abilities, I could say that visual arts, specially acrylic painting are one of my bests. Here's one of the paintings I've made in 2020. 

Finally, if I should consider graffiti as an art form or a vandalism form, I'd definitely choose the second concept. I think is usual to consider that art should be in museums, in canvas, and be painted for a prepared artist... But I think that the human expression doesn't have a defined place, or a defined material, or a defined technique. We can see incredible graffiti creations in the public space, and usually, with important statements, usually from vulnerable or repressed crowds. The streets are the canvas of the people, and I think that we shouldn't vandalize their expressions. Sometimes, people with fewer resources have incredible talents, just like Jean-Michel Basquiat, my favorite artist of all the times... Here are some pictures of his creations

A subject I enjoyed at school

 

The best concert I've been to

The best concert I've been to it was on 2013 at the the National Stadium, and at the same time, it was the first concert I've ever been in my life. The artist I saw was "Blur", and I went there with my best friend in that time, Java. "Blur" is a britpop England band, and they were very popular in the nineties... So, as you imagine, we were, maybe, the most younger fans into the crowd. 

The artists were lively and really get the crowd going.  When they started playing "Song 2", one of the most famous songs, the crowd jumped like crazy, and I thing that moment was one of the most memorable I've ever had in my life. That adrenalinic shot of energy it was simply out of this world! Amazing...  I enjoy the electrifying atmosphere in that concert, and I clearly remember the eco of the fans singing in unison the choruses of their songs.  

We had an incredibly wonderful time with Java ... We even met Francisca Valenzuela into the crowd (the singer), and I still remember the photo I took of my friend with her.