English Language Challenges

My experience in learning English at the university has been quite good. This is my third and last English subject, I entered the university knowing very little English, now I feel that I have learned a lot thanks to the classes. I also think that the English classes have been very entertaining or at least much more than what one expects in a university class.

As for blogging, I think it's a good way to learn about the language and get along using it. There are topics more entertaining than others, but in the same way, it doesn't take long to make the post, which greatly favors our free time.

Despite having learned a lot from these courses, I still need to improve different aspects of my English. Like being able to speak fluently and further expand my English dictionary inside my head. I also feel like I need to learn about certain terms and sayings that English speaking people use, this depends on the part of the world, but mostly I am interested in the United States and England.

I plan to improve this by practicing with my friends who speak English, also by watching series and movies in English with English subtitles. This way, if I don't recognize a word or phrase, I Google it, so it sticks in my memory. Another way I am going to use is to listen and sing songs in English, look for the lyrics, and memorize them.

Outside of English class, I have been using the language sometimes, when I watch videos without subtitles I do the exercise of understanding everything and if I don't understand something I look for it, sometimes I also speak in English with my friends or with my dad, since they master English and help me practice.

Changes to my study programme

Considering that I am a second-year university student and I study architecture, in this instance, I will talk about some changes that I would make in the study program.

About the subjects taught during the career, I believe that sustainability in architecture and its relationship with climate change should be deepened in the study program. On the other hand, I think that there must be compulsory subjects in which it taught about physical and verbal communication, and also about emotional and financial management.

The race could last much less time, instead of five and a half, three years. And in my opinion, the academic load that generates in the students is abusive, regardless of the career. I think that so much academic load is not healthy mentally and neither physically.

Regarding the university infrastructure, it seems to me that there is the main problem, which is urgent and is that there are not enough quality spaces for students to work and study.

It would also be great to have more access to technology within the university, such as computers and printers for free, and even a television to watch football games in your spare time or any other television program. In any case, I think the most important thing is quality and free printers, or at least with a per-student restriction, since, as students, we spend a lot of money printing documents.

Finally, regarding the teaching method, I think it should be much more didactic, maybe some classes in the open-air experimenting with nature, or more tours instead of classes, where you can go to explore and get to know a place in the community.

Personal Opinion

-What is your opinion about buying instead of adopting pets?

There are so many pets, like dogs and cats, that do not have a house or people who care for them, they live in the street, without food, and they don't even receive affection. So I think that buying a pet, knowing that hundreds of pets need a home and they don't charge for that, is somehow a bit selfish.

-What is your opinion about climate change?

Climate change is real, and I don´t understand why there are people that don´t believe it. On the other hand, see the politicians doing nothing to care for the planet, it´s too frustrating because I think that they are the only one that can make a real change, considering that the earth is in critical condition and changes are needed now. 

-What is your opinion about recycling?

I think that recycling may be indispensable in our lives. After the industrial revolution, we started using a lot of disposable things and also a lot of plastic products. Now, considering climate change, we return to the culture of recycling, but many people still don´t know it, even though it is beneficial in economic and health terms. So I think that there should be more education and incentives for people to recycle.

-What is your opinion about legalizing marijuana and other drugs?

My opinion on this subject is that legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco are much more harmful than marijuana in the way that they harm people's health, causing death. Because of this, I think that marijuana could be legal before alcohol and tobacco cause this natural drug is even beneficial for people's health. In the case of the other drugs, I don't know much about them, so I don't have a strong opinion on the subject.

My future Job

When I think about a job in the future, I don't have a clear idea of what to do, like the perfect job for me, and seriously? I don't want to know exactly the plan of my life like others do. 

I only know that I would like a job that has a real purpose, to help people or the environment, without lies to earn more money than necessary. 

If I have to choose different aspects of a job, I would like that allows me free time for sure to do what I want to, see my friends, family, go on an excursion, etc. 

If I have to travel for work, I would love it. I'd rather have to travel a lot than not travel at all. I want to travel in the future.

On the other hand, I would prefer a job where I have to move a bit to one where I have to sit all day. This is healthier, I know that now the jobs are more and more sedentary when doing everything on the computer, and that is something that worries me since sitting all day is going to harm our health a lot.

Regarding money, I do not expect too much money. I would be happy to have what it takes to live well, and with a little more to be able to save it or invest it later in something else. I would still like to have enough to be able to travel on holiday. 

A holiday

In January of this year, I went to the south of Chile for a holiday with my friends. This trip was organized several months ago by me and my closest friends from school. The plan was to go camping somewhere nice, quiet and as cheap as possible since we are all students and we don't have much money.

After investigating various Chilean tourist attractions, we decided to go to Cochamó, a town near the city of Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt. We plan to go to the camp in Cochamó for a week and then stay a couple of days in a hostel in Puerto Varas.

Finally, the holidays began on January 15. That morning we flew from Santiago to Puerto Varas, then we took a bus to Cochamó. The bus dropped us off where a 3-4 hour trail begins to the La Junta Valley, where the camp was located. We arrived at the camp at around 7 in the afternoon.

It is a beautiful place, between huge stone mountains and with a lot of vegetation, next to the campsite a great river of crystalline and icy water passed. There we spent 6 days camping, we trekked in different mountains, we explored forests, we bathed in the river every day and there were also some natural stone slides, this was beautiful and very entertaining.

After very beautiful and intense days in the valley, we spent 2 nights in the city of Puerto Varas, where we rested, slept on the beach, and took the opportunity to go to the Casino to party for a while. Cochamó is undoubtedly an incredible destination and I highly recommend it if you like nature and trekking.

The country I would like to visit

 The country that interests me most to go to is Spain.

I like to go because I would learn a lot about my career, the architecture in Spain is so important, you can find different architectural styles and beautiful and old buildings. In this way, buildings show you the history of architecture. 

On the other hand, according to what I have been told and I have seen from the country, the people there are very good people and very cool, they have a lifestyle in which they enjoy food and good times. Urban planning is also very different and works much better than here. This something that I´m so interested in.

Another reason I would like to go is that being there I could get on a train and go to Italy or France, which are countries that are close and I would love to visit.

I plan to go on an exchange to Madrid next year and work and study there, look for a job as a waitress or whatever. If I cannot get the exchange I would like to freeze my career to go to Spain, and there I would look for work and sign up for a course in urban planning, design, or architecture.

A photograph

I´m not a fan of photography, but it has always brought me very powerful feelings, like art in general.

I feel that photography speaks an unknown language, to which each one attributes a meaning, there are shapes, colors and textures that each person interprets differently, this happens unconsciously.

That´s why I consider photography to be therapeutic, since it leads you to find yourself and your deepest emotions for a moment, it´s everyone's decision to face them or simply evade them.

This image was taken in Queens, New York by Eric T. White, he´s an American photographer. I couldn't find the exact date this photograph was taken.

The image is a bit strange because a mirror is used and this produces a pretty crazy optical illusion, you can see a woman sitting in the sand and very close to the water on the beach, she´s hugging a mirror and only her arms and legs are visible, which are duplicated in front of the mirror.

The truth is that it was very difficult for me to choose a photograph, there were many that I liked, especially those that show nature, but then I found this image that I had saved a while ago.

It seems to me that the composition of this image and the optical illusion that it generates is very interesting, it made me feel many things, at first a shock since it was difficult for me to assimilate its content, but then I felt it very warm and like an invitation to flow. It generates a rather strange contradiction and I like that very much.