POST 7 ¿HOW GREEN ARE YOU?

Now there are many foundations and groups who try to promote the environmental causes. They

teach people techniques to be eco friendly, like how to measure your carbon footprint, to recycle, to develop and use clean energy (not from water)  amongst other things that people have designed to avoid causing more damages to nature.

To be honest I haven’t incorporated recycling to my habits, it’s too difficult I think because you don’t have at home different garbage cans to classify your waste. Or even if you can classify this the garbage truck doesn’t do this! So is pointless.

In transportation the best way to help the planet is to avoid using a car or if you can’t stop using this al least practice carpooling. In my experience I don’t have a licence so I don’t use cars, instead I walk almost everywhere I go, is more comfortable allow me enjoy the city, and help me to relax myself after a hard day at university. I prefer this that using the metro or even a byclicle (this is to dangerous here in Santiago there is too much traffic).

I have never joined to an organization like this because this is not my major concern, so is not that important for me (to be honest). But I would like to change this.

To reduce my footprint I have planted like 10 trees, I use energy-efficient lightbulbs, I try to reduce the garbage,nmm I think that's pretty much it!

In answer to what's missing in our society, I think having a Environmental Ministry as an institution is a step forward but does not solves the problem. Maybe the common citizen have change his behavior to an eco-friendly one, so now the  challenge is to envolve in this issue all company no matter if they belong to the private or public sector.

POST 5 (WEEK 7) >> SUMMARY FROM A CAREER-RELATED ARTICLE FROM THE GUARDIAN (ONLINE NEWSPAPER

POST 5 (WEEK 7) >> SUMMARY FROM A CAREER-RELATED ARTICLE FROM THE GUARDIAN (ONLINE NEWSPAPER

STUDENTS TO PROTEST OVER FUNDING CUTS AND EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/nov/18/student-protest-funding-employment-prospects

This week the student protest is returning to London. After a succession of occasionally chaotic marches two years ago. This march is organized by the National Union of Students and has the official slogan Educate, Employ, Empower. It is intended to highlight not just tuition fees and the loss of the educational maintenance allowance (EMA), but the dire employment prospects faced by many young people once they leave education, said Liam Burns, the NUS president.

Organizers expect at least 10,000 demonstrators to mass near the Embankment, on the north side of the Thames on Wednesday morning, before a march past Parliament Square towards Kennington Park, just south of the river, for a rally.

The purpose is to “setting the agenda for politicians. I don't think anyone would disagree that we're bearing the brunt of all sorts of attacks that we certainly didn't create. This is a different type of protest. It's about sending a clear message to politicians that it simply isn't good enough. The demonstration is like a starter gun to the general election, so parliament knows it has to do something to make things different for our generation. But it's also to say that we've not forgotten how they betrayed us in the last general election.", said the NUS president.

Post 6 (week 8) >> 2nd Free/Themed Post

Post 6 (week 8) >> 2nd Free/Themed Post

 

My history! :)

It was just a girl from a small town; there were no emotions or adventure in her life. One day she woke up, feeling down, like nobody and nothing cares. She stand on her feet an looked up over the window. The view of main street was like a Sunday everyday, few people, few cars, the same people walking around the square. She thought, just one more year, only one. 

This girl was a senior student of the town’s High School, and she was a great one. She never find out, where her facilities to understand, and learn came from! Her mom was a housewife, she ended high school but she never felt the need or lack of knowledge, as her daughter Sophia (“S”). Her dad died soon enough to be just a shadow in S memories. But she did not know what destiny would bring her.

All days in that town were extremely long, nothing happened. If you go to the square you could get to know everyone’s life, the gossip was the most popular activity. “I can’t stand this people, how can they be happy with this whole situation, it’s frustrating, they waste their lifes, and there’s nothing more stupid that waste our limited time here on earth, I need to do great things”- S said in a whisper. That night she could not sleep, millions of ideas came on and off her head.  It was time for a change, but what kind of change? What direction? I can not be here the rest of my life- she thougth

It was January 2d, a cold morning, the school was all at the gym for a meeting, there were two really tall guys, with a really “academical” face. He, Jeff, opened his mouth and made an offer that no one, neither S, can reject. He said “I came to this school to invite the most brilliant an talented students, to encourage them, to be part of a really exclusive fellowship, I invite you to ah intership to the investigation of the Large Hadrons Collider in France. This is a mayor opportunity, for you to develop your skills and take it to another level”. Whaaat?!  S felt how her hart started thumping, she never even imagine an opportunity this big, actually huge!, It’s a life changing experience.  The chance she had always dreamed.

She apply to this internship, with excellent grades, a really long résumé, pretty impressive for some one of her age, and from a small town with lacks of technology.

Once she was in France, for her 6 months experience, everything was so unreal, access to qualified information, brilliants professionals, she not even eat, trying to save her time to improve her sciences knowledge, she learned, and everyone noted this, she scaled to a high profile position in the organization, she became senior researcher, then director of de investigation.

She finally felt peace, she did everything she wanted to do, now lays in bed just resting an feeling free, then the phone ring, it was a Sweden call, it was hard to understand the accent, when she heard the words, NOBEL PRIZE, “I WON, I WON”  she felt the euphoria  in every cell of her thin body.

Then the sound of the church's bell wake her up, she looked out through the window, and saw all their neighbors, in the square, gossip, before mass.

POST 4 (WEEK 6) >> THEMED/FREE POST 1

POST 4 (WEEK 6) >> THEMED/FREE POST 1

Today is well known that sports or outdoor activities increase the well being of people in a complete sense, mind and body. You can get in a really good shape, feel happier and also gives you more energy to face the everyday activities.  

I love sports, along my 25 years l’d played like 4 of them. When I was 7 or 8 years old I practiced artistic gymnastics this was a great experience for me, a lot of fun but I could not keep practicing because my trainer told me that “I was too old, that they needed 5 or 6 years old girls because they learned faster” and all that, so I quit.

I left sports until I was at the University in 2009 I started to play soccer on my class team for Eloísa Matte Championship.  I thought that soccer was very fun so I joined the career team, I was a part of this for a year but I stop playing because most of the matches were on Saturday and was difficult for me to go after to Rancagua (my home town) and to get back to Santiago on Sundays to start a new week. At the same time I “flirt” with volleyball I liked this sport too but my problem was that I never played volley before so my learning process took just too much.

Finally this year I started running, because you don’t need special shoes, or equipment you just put your sports outfit and your sneakers and that’s all! Moreover you can enjoy the landscape and fresh air. Bike riding it’s a new activity since my boyfriend gave me a bike for present, so I’m learning, it’s never too late!

My recommendation is: just make sure to learn the technical aspect of the sport that you practice, that’s the way to avoid getting injuries!

POST 3 (WEEK 5) > MY BEST HOLIDAYS

POST 3 (WEEK 5) > MY BEST HOLIDAYS

My best vacation was this year in Temuco. It was in April and my boyfriend was sent there to work by the company. They rented a really nice apartment near the casino in a very beautiful and quiet area. He wasn’t so happy with the idea of being on his own for a month and so far away, so he decided to invite me. I didn’t want to go so ... just kidding, of course I wanted to go, so I said yes in one second. We went there and we had the most relaxing time ever!

We visited a lot of small villages like Vilcún, Melipeuco, Cunco, 

Pucón. In Vilcún we went to a  large farm, property of Rafael Labbe  once we get there he introduce us to everyone and after that his people invite us to get to know the field, so we went horse riding along the hills, it was amazing, I love horse riding! Another day we went to Conguillío National Park, a large park with beautiful landscapes, there most of the trees was incredible six metres tall araucarias! Along our drive through the park we could also watch the Llaima volcano, and the lava rivers. The final visit in our trip, was to Valdivia, and we visited the saval park  and we ate a really nice lunch in front of de Calle Calle river. This vacations were really good because I enjoy to have time with my boyfriend and also because we had the opportunity to visit a lot of places!!

POST 2 (week 4) >> A COUNTRY YOU'D LIKE TO VISIT

POST 2 (week 4) >> A COUNTRY YOU'D LIKE TO VISIT

A COUNTRY I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT

To be honest i would like to visit every country in the world, Who wouldn’t? I think that having the chance to get to now other cultures, people, landscapes, languages, it’s absolutely amazing. But for this assignment I must to admit I have two countries on mind!

First I’d like to go to USA to study there, because they have some of the best universities around the world! And having the chance of going there to study a master in public policy or something is a dream! And we all as Chileans can apply to US universities and also get the financial help on Becas Chile!

For visit as a tourist I love to go to Egypt, I want to know and admire the huge pyramids there!!! I think this must be awesome!! Maybe someday I will have the chance of buying this ticket!

POST 1 - FIRST TERM: GOOD AND BAD POINTS

The first therm of 2012 has been relaxed for me. I just had two of the six subjects. This was because I took extra credits last year so as you can imagine I get some work done, and that allow me to step forward. Planification and Foreign Relationships were the subjects that I had to take, and  both were really interesting, especially the last one, having the chance of studying how politics make their choices and decisions, in a context of power, economic interests, and even war.

 Now in my second semester I’m having a Seminary to get my degree in Political and Governmental Sciences. My investigation (it’s a group one) is oriented to find how decentralization is implemented in two different cities, to reach that goal we will study both Municipality. Has been tough, but I think we can make a really good job there .

So that’s all for now! Greetings