English Language Challenges

Learning English at university has helped me to improve a lot, from basic things like the use of capital letters, to learning the differences and correct ways of speaking in formal and informal situations. 

I think lessons could be complemented with recreational activities that include music and audiovisual material, because in my case it has helped me to get used to the language in a fun way.

About the use of blogs, I have a good opinion, because besides helping us to learn about grammar structure and vocabulary, it gives a space where we can feel free to explore things that we are interested in, it incites us to wonder about our dreams and expectations, which are really inspirational things to write about.

I guess the aspect of my English that has to be improved is the speaking, I still lack the right pronunciation and rythm to feel able to communicate with English speakers, but my plan is to improve this by living for awhile in an English-speaking country, so I can practice all the time and learn fast.

These days I'm using English for lots of things. Firstly, to watch movies and series without spanish subtitles, it helps me to get use to the language but also restricts certaing accents, like american mostly. Also now I'm working on an investigation about film continuity and it's relation with eye movents and attention, and almost all the information about this topic is in English, so I've been working hard for undestading all the papers that use too much technical words that I haven't seen before.

Changes to my study programme

Until now at my fourth year of journalism I've studied a lot of things like journalism writing, radio, and television, plus some subjects related to cultural studies, image analysis and theory and multimedia practices.

When I started the journalism studies I was shocked because in the entire curriculum wasn't any history subject, wich I consider fundamental for a journalist education, but last year the university made an entire change to the programme and now it includes history and some other important subjects, sadly I can't study those subjects because my generation it's still guided by the previous programme.

Another thing I find really urgent it's the need to start teaching students how to use all the recording and editing equipment for the television subjects. Usually teachers are more focused on teaching the foundations of reports and documentaries, they talk about rythm, plane scales, history of the audiovisual journalism, forgetting that sometimes student don't even know how to turn on a camera, which delayed us a lot at work, because we spend so much time trying to figure out how things work. Finally most of the students never learn this thecnical aspects and the ones who are really interested end up learning by themselves, which generates an unevenness in learning.

So I think in that sense this career needs a change in the contents and the teaching methods, teachers must never take for granted that students know how to use the equipments.

Winter Holidays!

Valle de Elqui

For this winter holidays I have planned to go travel to the north of Chile with my friends and my cousin who always comes to stay in my house on vacations. The idea is to go there by hitchhiking, so we don't spend too much money and have the chance to meet people in our way, also we think it's a good way to be exposed to unexpected fun we all seek in this trip.

We are thinking about staying a few days in Valle de Elqui, where we can camp and stay up watching the stars, drinking beer and laughing, maybe singing and dancing too. I've been there before but went with my parents for a day, but now I want to have the opportunity to stay there a few days and know some secret corners of the valley, and I'm sure that with my friends it will be an amazing time.

After that, we would like to keep traveling further to the north and go to Bahia Inglesa, which is a very beautiful beach, and maybe if we get lucky the wether will allows us to swim.

Bahia Inglesa

I hope that with the strike I can make my holidays coincide with those of my friends and my cousin, because we've been planning this so enthusiastically, but if it doesn't work out, staying home watching films and eating it's always a good way to rest and have a good time.

The Strike

I think the students are having an urgent fight, but I don't know about the effectiveness of the marches and strikes. At the begining of this movement around 2006, I think this kind of pressure was effective in order to awake this debate in the public opinion, but after more than ten years of using the same methods and getting no much more, I think it's time to turn to a different kind of contestation.

The movement has been sort of invalidated by the media, thanks to the awfull coverage of the marches and strikes, through years, national tv, newspapers, etc, had manage to make a bad impression of students that mobilize that has gone deeply in most of society. I guess that to counter this situation is necessary to stablish public debates that actually make people think, wonder about things beyond of what it's shown in media.

The most important thing in my opinion, is to make an epistemological change in the notion of education that most people have, we need to stop thinking that knowledge it's something that worth money, even if it's cheap or there are people with enough money to pay for it. Over the centuries education has been slowly separating from religion, elites, and its time to separate it completely from economy, as hard at it seems in this neoliberal reality.

To make this change I think its fundamental, paradoxically, more and better education, no more schools or universities, but education through media, through groups of people, through internet, we need to start discussing things with consiousness, with bases, and stop thinking that to have the opportunity to learn it's neccesary to beg for some kind of financing, to after manage with eternal debts.

Postgraduate studies

I have no intention to keep studying after I get the journalist degree, but if I had to think about something I would like to learn, it would be a course on documentary cinema. With years I have realized that I really like audiovisual journalism, not television, but documentaries, due to the closeness with film narrative. I've always liked cinema, but I think I'm not a creative person, so I never dared to study it, but with documentaries I think I could develop certain habilities to show the way I see things.

I've heard about the magister in documentary cinema that University of Chile imparts, and it sounds really interesting, if I could be accepted, I would like to take some theory courses like history of latinamerican documentary and film montage history, besides all the practical subjects in wich students learn and do every phase to create a documentary. 

I don't know if this kind of postgraduate course exists in other countries, but if it does, I would like to study in Argentina, Mexico or Spain, because from the spanish-speaking countries I admire the kind of cinema that comes from these three, but honestly, if this magister exists in New Zealand, I would definetly go there without second thought.

The best way to learn how to make things by it's doing them, so I would like to study part-time but with onsite classes, so I could go and practice all the time. 

My Future Job

Actually, now I feel really indecisive about what to do with my future, right now I have no desire to work as a journalist, I only know that I like cinema and trees. I had done a few workshops and elective subjects about film analysis and apreciation, and I think I could work in that way in difusion and I also would like to create some kind of space to watch movies for free where I live, in Paine, so the people who live there could have an opportunity to share different experiences and points of view about the topics in diverse films.

On the other hand, about my love for trees and plants, I have a plan. My dad is starting an little agricultural business and he wants to sell different kinds of plants and trees, so I would really like to work with him, to help him with his rising business and also have a constant contact with nature, so I can have time to think and do the things that I like and matter.

I'm aware that my plans must be really different to the ones of my classmates, but I think I'm studing to learn more than to have a title and work in it. I can say I had learned a lot about life in this years at university more that about the career itself, but I don't feel closed to any alternative in the future, who knows, I may end up working as a journalist.

Belly button trip

The best party I've ever been was last year with my classmates. We were celebrating that we reached the half of our studies and we went camping for a weekend. We stayed in a place called Picarquín, in the limit between Metropolitan and 6th region.

Firstly, one of the best things was that we had a music reproductor that sounded really loud, and also a fridge that kept our beers cold, so we didn't need much more. And there we were, with more than 48 hours left just to party, and that's exactly what we did. I slept no more than four hours in the whole weekend, I danced so much with everyone up in te tables, and laughed so hard till my belly hurt.

I think my favorite thing that happened was the enormous amount of food that was avaliable for me to eat, I  ate so much that I spent almost a week sick of the stomach, I just couldn't stop eating. After the weekend I kept remembering hilarious things that happened and laughed by myself in the street, in public transportation, everywhere!

Here's a cute collage a classmate did to remember that lovely party.

What does it mean to me to learn english

When I was at school I wasn't much interested about learning English, actually I didn't care about learning anything, I only studied because I was supposed to.

As long as I grew up, like in 7th or 8th grade, I realised that it was easy for me to undestand the English contents at school, I didn't need to go over the themes to have good grades, so I started to like it, and I started to participate in different extracurricular activities involving English. like summer/winter camps with children from other schools, and even once I acted in a play in English for the younger childs of my school.

I think that period of time when I started to like English, coincided with the moment when I became interested in some bands that usually were from anglophone countries, and also I started to watch so many movies with mi dad and my uncle, that I begin to get used to hearing people talking in English, so I guess that was the reason why it became so easy for me in school, although several times I didn't memorised grammar structures or anything theoryc, I knew which words could function toghether and which wouldn't.

When my parents realized about my abilities for learning English they were proud I think, because English as always been very difficult for them, and I was able to help them sometimes for example when they needed to translate some instructions or wanted to know what their favorite songs said in Spanish.

Also when my classmates became aware that I had good grades in English, they started to ask me for help. Sometimes I wrote pronunciation of the typical dialogues that school teachers make students memorize, so it was easier for them to memorize the correct way of speaking.

Today I think for me it is very useful to keep learning English, mostly because I spend so much time watching movies and sometimes I download very rare films and I can't find the subtitles anywhere, so over time I have been able to watch and understand a few only with the English audio and sometimes with English subtitles too. Also, I have very unrealistic plans to travel around a few countries when I finish this studies, so I want to learn as much as I can before I go, because I think English is the language that most of the world can speak, so I could communicate with the people of the countries I want to go without major trouble.

The best holydays/concert ever

Actually, the best holydays and concert of my life happened at the same time. It was 2014 and I had a powefull obsession for a band called The Mars Volta. I was a big fan for many years, but in 2013 the two most important and influent members of the band had conflicts and they annouced The Mars Volta no longer existed.

I was so sad and kept listening every album, every song, day after day, dreaming that someday they would play together again and I would be able to pay a plane ticket to wherever they would decide to make their spectacular comeback and see them play for the first time in my life!

So, a big announcement took place around april of 2014, they were back, as a new band called Antemasque. I was hysterical, hoping they would come to Chile, I didn't care if they no longer played those songs I loved so much, but they were together again and making new music that I slowly started to cherish.

Constitution Square, México City

But I waited, and no date on the tour was scheduled in Chile or even South America. So one day, watching videos of the shows in other countries, I started to think  "what if I travel to the nearest show?" So Mexico appeared, and in just an afternoon I had everything planned. My parents didn't even thought in the possibility that I carry on my plans, so they let me.

Soumaya Museum

In one month I spent all my money in the passport and had the plane ticket bought with some money mi dad borrowed me when he realized how determined I was to make that trip. So, I went there, alone, and a bit scared, but had a wondefull week, I stayed in a very decent and cheap hotel and walked throught many special places, I met really nice people and went to a great fair where I bought some discs and beautifull clothes.

           

A blowfish in Inbursa Acuarium

The last night in México city I went to Antemasque concert, I was so excited, I just couldn`t believe that I had managed to get there, everything that night was perfect, the show was so thrilling, I screamed my lungs out, I felt tremendously compensated, privileged, terribly happy.

After the concert I went walking back to the hotel, listening those songs I'd just heard live, almost shaking, with a strong heart beating and a feeling of complete fullness.

Antemasque

Country I'd like to visit: New Zealand

I would really like to go to New Zealand because of the spectacular landscapes. I think its necessary at least once in a life to have the oportunity to see that kind of nature that's almost surrealistic.

Actually I don't know too much about that country, but I've heard that it's really expensive, but in the other hand, the minimun salary it's much more than here in Chile, so it's a good opportunity to work and save some money.

In first place I would like to go to travel the country. Some time ago I was searching how much it would cost to go that far, and I found out it's not so impossible, I think that with some months of work I can save enough to pay for the plane ticket and the rest I think can be solved with a tent and lots of food to cook.

Although sometimes I think it would be nice to live there for a while and study english to take advantage of improving what I already know.

I hope soon to have the courage to go there on my own.

Activity 1

- Requirements to hire a bike in London.

The requirements to hire a bike in London are basicaly to pay a certain amount of money and return it on the period in which it was hired. In the case of the public bike sharing scheme, Santander Cycles, they give access to the bikes for 24 hours just for £2,and people can also hired them for a whole year by paying £90. Santander Cycles are emphatic with docking the bikes in the docking stations across the city while they are not being used.

- What's Oyster?

Oyster is a system that provides electronic smartcards to turists and visitors, so they no longer need to use money to travel in London's public transportation. Oyster cards come fully charged with credit and to use them turists have to touch the card on the yellow card reader at the gates at the start and the end of their journey.

- Is there a train system?

Yes, besides the London underground there is an overground rail services on six routes around the city. Oyster cards also can be use in this kind of transportantion.