My experience learning english at University

I started my English course this year at University. This English classes are separated in two parts, the oral one and the writing one. I think this is very useful for someone like me, I mean, a simple student, because you can develop in two important areas. This course has been very significant for me and I think that’s why it is compulsory: one of the requirements for living and working in this modern world is that you have to understand, speak and write English.

This year began later because of the earthquake, so English III course were shorter than this one (IV). We were like 20 students in it, but along the weeks we were only 10. That semester I enjoyed it more than this one, because I had better and interesting signatures and I had good times with my friends attended to classes. Despite of I was only with Trini in English III, I think we had fun and we got bored too, but the main thing is we learnt a lot, specially in the oral part, because we could develop a long conversation in English and we could talk about what we wanted because not everyone understood what we were talking about.
Afterwards, I have taking English IV because I want to finish this class and have certified that I can speak and write English in my studies area and in every way it is possible. This semester I learnt very much, but this time at the writing area. Teacher corrected me many times so I have understood the structure of English in its grammar. This time I attend with a lot of my friends to the course, so I have a good time this semester too. However my other classes have been a little bit boring, so I think I’m not in the mood for participating very much. Instead of it, I appreciate the value of the course and I will make an effort to finish it with good marks.

Finally, I have to say that English classes at University have been a good experience in different ways, specially in increasing my knowledge about this language. I appreciate new ideas like writing in a blog, I think it is a modern and funny way for learning English because you can interact with your friends commenting their blogs. Furthermore, I think my final English level will be appropriate for future, because I want to travel abroad and continue my studies in a foreign country.

Money

Hello, today I'm going to talk about money...

Well, I don't really know If I would like to be wealthy, on the one hand, I could make a lot of things I like, like travelling and eating very much. But, on the other hand, I think I like being the way I am now, I have a comfortable life and when I finish my career I would like to have a normal life, like a middle-class people and to be comfortable. I think it is not necessary to be wealthy for doing things I like, besides, throughout my life I have adapted to every different situation we (my family and I) have had.
If I inherit a lot of money and I don't have any idea how to spend it, I think I would save it to buy a house maybe or for my future studies. Furtheremore, I would spend a part of it travelling. I love to travel and there are many places I would like to visit.
I think money is very important for everyone nowdays. We almost can't do anything without it. I have to use it everyday, for eating, transporting, laundry, etc. We have become more dependent on money, now you are required to pay every stuff you buy, or you have to pay in installment. I apreciate that today my parents can give me the money I need for living and for giving me a little bit of pleasure.

How Green I am

Today I'm going to talk about environmentally friendly practices. I think people can learn about these practices in some institutions that promote the environmental care in all its ways. I haven't really incorporated these recycling habits, but in my apartment, people can sort cardboard, plastic and glass things out from garbage and cleaning people give it to people who collect it or send it to recycling sites. Besides I don't throw away white paper because I sell it. About my transportation, I almost always walk, because I live near the University, so I have the privilege of being close from where I study. But, as I don't have anything else than my legs, I use bus or subway when I have to go far away.
I haven't supported or joined any eco-organisation, I think that maybe I don't have the enough consciousness yet to do that, instead, I do try to reduce my carbon footprint using an electric calefactor in winter. Besides I always try to reduce my water consume, making my showers shorter, disconnecting all electric appliances, recycling paper, walking in the way is posible, etc. Also I would like to recycle all my trash and I would like to have a bycicle, because it is good for envirnment and for my body and health too. I think all people should do this kind of things in the way they can, because we all know the resources are becoming scarce and the Earth is getting smaller for humanity.
In this city I think people could be more environmentally friendly, and institutions could make more public this kind of practices. I recently heard about these "green buildings" that architects and construction companies are constructing. I think this is a very good idea to start environmentally friendly practices from each home, so as people can make future generations's lives healthier.

High school and Education

Hello everybody, today I'm going to talk about my experience in high school. I can say that my subjects were like in any other school, I had basic subjects, and then I chose the elective subjects, that were Biology, Chemestry and algebra and functions. I think the education in my high school wasn't bad, but since it changed teachers, the education level went down. I had nice teachers, older and younger ones. I studied in a private school, so I did have acces to technology, like computers and internet. I think the education level I had was mean and a little bit dispersed, because of this teacher change. The elective subjects wans't really well distributed, for example, I was in the biologist course and I had a subject with mathematicians, because the school had not more subjects or teachers to fill our curriculum. That's why I considerate that the education that my school provided me wasn't important to take future desitions, i think it was more meaningful the values and the service spirit they gave me, because it was a catholic school. I would recommend to the authorities to improve the subjects curriculum, because you are learning some useless things, and there are others missing. Besides, the education levels comparing public and private schools are very different and poor people studies in publics school that are often very bad, so, at last, you can't move up in the social scale.

Well, I think individuals are important till the point they use what they have, to be responsible of your marks or things like that, but I still thinking about how difficult is to move up today and achieve a better life or education. Today, the responsability is focused in the ability of the person to take advantage and doing something to survive and improve its own life. But I think this "encouraging" point of view is just realising an entire state, goberment and public policy from true social problems of the neoliberal system

News: The paradox of middle-class aspiration

America is a very unequal society and it has been this way for decades. The Great Recession was a positive event in a way it focus politic and economist's attetion in social unequality. Economist just started to worry about the middle-class situation, wich is the most injured sector of american society. Besides, politics and polocies generally damage middle-class people.
Real wages have not been increased or went down and income inequality has been regularly rising in the US since the 1970s. The recent census shows that the median income was down about 4% last year and the number of families that earn less than 25,000 increased by 1%.

In the attempt to solve this unequal situation, the Republicans wants to increase taxes of rich people in $700bn dollar. But the problem is many americans, from all social classes are opposed to raising taxes for the rich. One posible explanation of this position is that people belief you can ascent social scale or that they may one day be rich themselves. Therefore, this is the "American dream", the one politics tell you, but actually this is not as probably, considering US has the lowest social mobility of any industrialised nation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/sep/30/taxandspending-republicans

Nothing Hill

I am not sure which is my favourite movie, but It is the movie that I have watched the most. It is called "Nothing Hill" or "A place called Nothing Hill", directed by Roger Michell, realeased in 1999 in U.S.A . The main actors are Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. It is a love story that happens in London, England. He (William) falls in love with a famous actress (Anna Scott), almost unreachable for him. He is a normal man who works in a travel bookstore in the traditional neighborhood of Nothing Hill and one day this famous actress comes to his bookstore to buy a book. They started knowing each other because of life circunstances. She, with the showbiz behind her, and he with his simple life, with a complicated roommate. I like the part when William told their friends and family when she asked him, sincerely , to love her, instead of all the things that have happened, and then he told her he didn't want to, because it was a strange thing to be with her. So, all his friends and family starred at him like "Oh man, you are a complete idiot" Because she was a beautiful and good woman, who wanted to date him and love him. Well, I said It was't my favourite movie, but I realize that I have watched it a lot of times, and when it is on TV I watch it again, and I am not the only one, because I watched it with my dad, who likes it too.

Visiting Santiago

If a foreign turist comes to Santiago and If I would be his tourist guide, I will recommend him to visit like Bellavista neighborhood, which is a night-typical neighborhood. There you can go for a drink with your friends, accompanied with good music, also you can go to a disco and dance all nitgh long!. Santa Lucía's hill is another beautiful place to visit and recall the colonial times. Other historical monuments like La Moneda or the National Library have an antique arquitecture. He should walk and tour this old streets of Santiago, he should visit the Lastarria neighborhood, when you can find a lot of Bar- restaurants and coffe shops. Also you can buy antiques like old books, vinyls, old discs players, etc. In this cosmopolitan city, you can find a lot of shopping centers like malls or ferias, too, like Patronato with many cheaps clothing stores.
I think this city, like many on this country, have a lot of history in temporal terms, a thing you can find in its streets and its old and colouring houses. Furthermore, there are more antique communes like Ñuñoa or Providencia that are near of Santiago's center and you can visit too. Besides, I would like to add another final place, that I think deserves to be visited. Cajón del Maipo is a place where you can find beauty and peace, both in contact with nature. There you can camp or rent a hut and spend a nice time with your friends, family or partner.