Your experience at learning English at the university

Maybe this is my last post in this blog, so it is very important for me post something relationed with this class and maybe concludes some relevant things about it. First, I am going to write about the importance of the blog; Second, and the main idea of this topic, I am going to write about my experience of this class. And finally, I am going to write about the utility and inutility of learning English at the university.

I started to write in this blog in April, but I feel that I have learnt much more than the things that I learnt in the same time in classroom. To write in the blog is, in my opinion, the best way to improve your vocabulary and grammatical techniques. And also it is a good way to improve your oral expression, because you discover what words you really know and with time you can improvise, and write very quickly.

My experience in the English class was very strange, I really have learnt a lot but it is really stressful came to classes and also cannot sleep in them. In the first term, I was more motivated because I was a novice in this, but with the time came to class was a very hard mission. In the second term, was more difficult come to classes, but at least this is the last term with English so it was a good motivation. It is very important to practice what you learn, but it also has been very difficult for me because I think that I am very Hyperactive, so the experience of being sitting for a while has been hard for me.

Finally, I think that my experience at learning English at the university was good, but it could be a lot better. Maybe it could be more motivating if the classes have counted with some foreign students, so you can learn some cultural things at the same time that we learn English. For example in my public school it was in that way and the classes were really funniest.

How green I am:

I am very green.

The environmental contamination problem is one of the most popular topics of this century, especially for the hippie rich boys and also for the other hippies. Also it has been an important topic for the normal people, principally because Al Gore made a movie (I can’t remember the name) supported by new technologies developers companies, obviously to introduce in the best way some products like hybrid technology and things like that.

So, how you can notice, I am not a big fan of this topic. I think that it is important, but I think that the big problem is caused by the big companies and the rest of the people have a lot of other problems in the present to be worried about the future.

The topic is very popular but the diffusion is very bad, it is possible that an important number of persons have forgotten the topic. I have not incorporated important modifications to my habits by this problem. In my family the recycling of garbage was a habit before the boom of the environmental problem, I don’t know the reason. For example I have in my room some batteries of the past century, because we do not throw it into the garbage, and I have never founded the recycle zone. I never use the car; I live in the center of Santiago so all the things are very close to me, and also “all the busses are useful for me”.

I don’t support any eco-organization, I hate the green people.

Finally I think that if the world turns a disaster and the temperature make us crazy, that doesn’t care. I only expect that we never forget that the battle against the big companies have to be for and by the people, and not for a tree, I think that is inconceivable that the hippies were more worried about the green world than the people who suffer or who lives in bad conditions.

My last wild party

This week I have to write about the last wildest party that I had or attended. I really do not know what the parameter to define a wild party is. Because when I heard the words “wild party” or “crazy party” I think in parties like the parties of the American pie movie. In that way I never had had a party like that. So, I am not going to talk about my wildest party, I am going to talk about my last bizarre party.

This party was in the house of one of my ex classmates, this party was a meeting with some of my ex classmates, they have made a lot of this events previously but I never have go to one of this. All started very well, we talked; we made a barbecue, all very friendly and funny. In my school always had existed some weird mysticism, a special “chauvinism”, so the fraternity is very strong. But in some moment, when the alcohol came to visit us, our meeting ended in a very bad way. I think that is the first time of my life, and I expect that was the last, when everybody in the party get drunk and vomited.

I can said that I do not remember all the things that I have talked, but I can said that I was very responsible of my acts, I vomited always in the places that the people vomit.

So that’s all, and I don’t want to add a picture. The house was like a battlefield after de battle.

Do you want a cup of tea?

Englishman in New York

This song is very special for me for some special reasons. One of them is the fact that “The Police” and Sting are not a important musicians for me, I like some of them songs, for example message in a bottle, Roxanne, Every breath you take; but I do not appreciate their songs or the way that they make music. So the symbolism of this song does not come from the band or the singer. I always make jokes with this song, especially with my new classmates, because when we went to the beach they drink tea at six o’clock or after the launch and I found it very weird, so I put this song that I found weirder than the situation, I thought that it was a very good complement.

About the Sting I can say that his real name is Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, he is an English musician. He was the leader of the English band “The Police”. They started to play in 1977. The band was formed by Sting (singer, and bass player); Andy Summers, who plays the guitar; and Stewart Copeland, the drummer. They have 5 studio albums, but Sting by his own have 10 solo albums. The band plays together between 1977–1984, 1986, and in 2007–2008.

How I said before I do not like this band so much. But I have to say that Sting and his band have a very special music style, rock, jazz, and some other influences. But they mix this special music style with very bad lyrics, they have some exceptions, but there are not so much.

Víctor Jara’s Shed

After this wonderful week, those kinds of week were the night becomes in day to some us, if the expression “to be sparing with, you shouldn’t go out so much at night” it sounds common to you and if you feel that you are drinking like a fish so you want to stop I recommend Victor Jara’s shed to dose.

This place is placed in Huerfanos street; found this place was very easy for me because I am very near of this place. This place is very special for a lot of reason; one of them is the fact that in Victor Jara’s shed always are recitals, so it’s very funny go there and hear some good live music.

Victor Jara’s shed also is one of the most important recitals places of Santiago; it’s like the home of the new Chilean music. In this shed is very usual the presence of important musicians of Chile, like Inti Illimani, Los Jaivas, etc. And how I said before, promising new musicians of the local scene, just like Juana Fe, Manuel Garcia, etc.

I have been in this place a lot of times with a lot of different people, and all kind of people. The last is very interesting; in this place you can find all kind of people always.

So, the invitation has been done. This place is cheap, friendly, nice and a lot of other adjectives. In other way, if you don’t want to pay you can be outside drinking and hearing good music.

Cumbia nena!

Bicentenary

I will celebrate this special national holiday in a wonderful and colorful city, Santiago. Probably, I will be with my parents, my friends and some other people. I think that is not necessary to spend much money celebrating this special national holiday, you always would invite somebody over to your house and make that he pays, but with this option you have to be very cautious and select your friend in a very meticulous process.

The thing that I like of the national holiday is the opportunity that it’s bring to you to get drunk and ‘rest in peace’. The truth is that at this age you really don’t need a reason to get drunk, so I am not so sure if that is a good reason. Other thing that I like of the national holiday is the barbecues, so many dead animals and all for me (evil).

Other important point of this special national holiday that I consider important is that this year is the 200th anniversary of our Independence that’s it different of celebrating the 199th anniversary or the 201th anniversary of our Independency because… is weird, there are no differences; it’s only the obsession of the human being for the ceros. Why? I have no idea.

I think that the privatization of the education in Chile, it’s not the problem of the University’s system. The university system is only the finalization of a long process, and this process starts in the primary level of education. The differences created by the system are very dangerous in sense that it
I think that the privatization will not impose in our state university system, because this is problem for a whole society. I cannot see any solutions to this problem, sometimes you felt that this is a problem that nobody wants to solve, the politicians, the authorities, only the students are trying to give solutions, but even that solutions seems like charity, more than real solutions. For example, this week almost everybody has forgotten the problem and now are busy with their tests and works. This is a cultural problem and if we don’t take it seriously, obviously we are going to fail.
About the question: “Do you think this government will privatize Universidad de Chile?” I always have had this question ¿ it hasn’t done yet? If you look the students of this faculty, you have the answer. It is very sad, but this university shows us how big this problem is. We are not fighting for this; we are fighting for something better.

Turkey

I would like to visit the Republic of Turkey, because I always have thought that Turkey is a very interesting country. This country has a long and rich history, which is full of very interesting events, some of them very important in the history of the world. In that way, Istanbul would be the best place to go, it is the most important cultural city in the world for me. To be in this city would be a dream.

Really I never have thought in stay in this country, but really I am very happy in Chile, so I do not like the idea of stay away.

If I have the opportunity to go to the Republic of Turkey, I would like to travel with a lot of people; it could be anybody, the gardener, Max Weber, Mr. Magoo, even the English professor.

I am not saving money for this travel, because for me the travel is an unrealistic idea.

First Term

The first term was very important for me, because it was my first year in the university. I am not sure if I had enjoyed the first term, but I know that I had learnt a lot. I think that in the first term I had not studied enough, for example: I was always doing other activities, even if I had a test the next day.

I started very bad the first Term, in the first test I had a red mark, but with time I had improved my marks a lot, I think that I was not adapted to the system.

I am really do not know if I can say that I made new friends, but I can say that I have find very nice people this year, and maybe in the future we would be great friends.

The last one...

I suppose that this is my last post in this blog. It's a little bit funny because I started to write in this blog on April, in three months I feel that I have learned a lot, not only in this lessons.

The experience of writing in the blog has been very useful, I think that it's very important to practice what you learn, but it also has been very difficult for me because I think that I'm very Hyperactive, so the experience of being sitting for a while is hard for me. But the hardest part was trying to write slowly and without committing mistakes. In that way I think that I haven't enjoyed a lot this experience. I think that this blog have helped me to improve my English, but I'm not so sure of that. These classes are very short and only once for week, so is very difficult improve your English practicing without regularity. Also, I think that the blog by himself didn't help us to improve our English, the classes give us the tool to make our best. I thought that maybe we could have learned more with other kind of exercises, more listening, or trying to speak more. For example in my school, public school, every year arrived voluntaries (commonly North Americans or English students) that make the classes more interesting, they speak us about their culture or make some games. With the voluntaries we familiarized with the accent and also we always tried to talk, because the conversations always turned interesting.

In other way, I know that there aren’t any questions about this, and the topic of this post is the blog, but I think that the politics of the university about saturate the academic semester, didn't allow us to take this opportunity to learn more in activities like this.

This photograph was taken, in December of 2009, by my dad.
This photo is very special for me, because it shows me there with all my classmates; or rather, my comrades. We were very different, all of us. But even then we fought in all the battles together. When I said fights, I mean all kind of fights, protests, occupation, problems. Also we had made votes to change tests, this votes had have more power than the teacher, and if he had made the test, we had left de classroom.
When somebody fell, there always would be someone there to help him.
This photograph was taken the day were we graduated. The moment was very special; there were a lot of people crying. We realize that day how much we love each other. That day we started the end of the beginning. I’ m very proud of all of them, principally I remember a phrase of a teacher who said: “We are son of the rigor”, it doesn’t mean that we are strictly or something like that, it means that nobody give us nothing, we fight to be where we are. And now, in the university, I understand the words of my teacher. It’s very sad see how the opportunities are for so few people, and for only one kind of people, rich people.
One of my friends was so poor, and watch them now in a good university and studying what he want its make me feel very happy, very glad. That’s mean the “Instituto” for me, not to be the best, but the effort, had defeat the life.

My favorite festivity is Christmas
I spend it with my Family and sometimes with other people, my family and I used to celebrate Christmas in my grandmother's house, but now my family celebrates it in our house.
The activities that I usually do during this festivity is to give and receive gifts (it seems obvious, but it isn't), but the think that I really enjoy is the dinner, because it´s usually the only day of the year when I like what I’m eating.
The last time me and my family celebrated Christmas in our house, it was really funny and we ate very good food. But really the last Christmas was very boring compared to other years.
The activity that I have never done during this festivity is getting drunk, I think that it would be very funny, maybe a little bit crazy, but you never need a good reason to get drunk.
Other thing that I have never done is not to celebrate Christmas on December 25th. I think that it would very interesting to see what happens.

Criminal Laws

I think that the capital punishment is a bad solution to reduce criminality. First of all the capital punishment isn't effective. There aren't proves that the capital punishment decrease the criminal rate. Finally the capital punishment is expensive, studies show that the capital punishment is even more expensive than the life imprisonment.

About the measures that the government should take to reduce criminality rates in Santiago, I think that the only way to reduce the criminality is destroying the system, but that is a little bit impossible.
In my opinion the consumerism is the origin of the increase of criminality in Chile, because generally the criminal acts are associated with valuables.
Once I was victim of pick pocketing, I felt very angry and disappointed but then I realized that the object that I lost was not so important, in fact I began to question why I have bought that useless object.

My favorite piece of technology is the personal computer. My father bought it when I was very young, I think that I was about 9 years old .

I use my personal computer in a lot of ways, I use it to load the battery of my MP3, to search information in the world wide web, to play video games, to communicate with my friends, definitely you have unlimited options with your personal computer.

I use my personal computer every day of the week and a lot of hours of the day, because my personal computer it's a very useful tool for my work and for my life.

How I say it before I like my computer because it allow me to develop a lot of things that I consider very important, and without my personal computer probably I couldn't develop that.

I can't imagine my life without a personal computer, maybe the computer is not so important but I think that it makes my life easier. In other way I think that the computer it's very demanding, it consume a lot of your time. Who knows? Maybe my life would be more interesting without the computer, but the world doesn' t wait for you.

My best friend's name is Ignacio Monjes. I met him in a school of Linares when I was nine yars old, and we quickly were good friends.
I cosider him my best friend because since we were friends we always contact each other and I feel that I can trust in him whenever I want and also he can trust in me whenever he want.
A great memory that i have with him was 4 years ago when he stay in my home in Santiago and then we go the house of Ignacio. We enjoy the travel and we played a lot of pranks.
Actually we don't do any activities together, but in holidays commonly I went to his house in Linares, and we do funny things, things like parties and stuff like that.

My favorite vacation place is the state of New York . New York is located in United States of America in the east coast (Athlantic ocean). Well, New York is the most important city of the world, what can I say?, there are a lot of facilities, Museums, Monuments, Stadiums and very funny places, the truth is that you feel bored in this city, you have a big problem.

Really I think that this city doesn't need more facilites, for example there is a beautiful park (Central Park), where you can stay in peace, so this city is more than movement and noise.


I was in this city in my last vacations, and I felt that I learnt a lot of things, there are some comunities that are very special, the most impressive for me were the Jews Orthodox, they have a very interesting culture.

The earthquake's day I was in the street talking with some friends, first I thought that somebody was throwing stones, but really it was the church, which was falling in pieces. When the earthquake stopped I went to my department with my family and then I fell sleep after two hours.
I felt scared, but in the street you feel in safe so it wasn't so scary.
I learnt a lot of things:
-I have good friends, they came to my house after an hour to look how I was.
-In the Santiago's Center streets there are no electrical cables, really I haven't know that before the earthquake.
And principally I lernt to appreciate the people who is around me, it's really nice know that I can trust in my family and my friends.

Hello!!

Hello!! my name is Claudio Montoya, I'm a Universidad de Chile Student and I'm studying sociolgy since this year. I am 17 years old, I live in Santiago specifically in Santiago's Center.

I lived the half of my life in Linares, a little city located in the VII region, so only since I'm 12 years old I live in Santiago.
I like to read, principally non fiction books, but also I like somo fiction books. Before I enter to the university I used to play tennis in a Universidad de Chile's tennis club, and now I expect to play with the universty benefits. My favorites players are Mikhail Youzhny, Andy Murray and Potito Starace an ambidestraoux player.
As well, I play piano, I like to play Yan Tiersen sheets, clasic music too, and also popular songs from Radiohead, Coldplay, Gun's n Roses or similar bands.
Thats all! Have a nice day!
See ya!