Self Evaluation of my Academic Year (2009)

Hello Classmates! Today I’m going to do a brief essay doing a self evaluation about my academic year. First of all, I want to remember you, my dears friends, that I’m studing Anthropology, but I came from Bachillerato, so I’m in second year of there and in first of anthropology. I know that is a little difficult to understand some time my academic situation but, believe me, sometimes neither I understand. If I have to evaluate my academic performance this year, I have to separated my analized by topics. First I’m going to talk about how much I learn this year and secondly about my performance.

So…about the learning topic… I think this year, and in fact my two years at university, have been very interesting in this area. Because my spectrum of knowledge has grown a lot, many doors of different discipline have been open and I had the chance to explore each one. And that allow me to make, what I think it´s a good decision, about what career follow after the baccalaureate. Also I can say about this year, which I had very interesting classes and teachers, like, for example, philosophy of social sciences, anthropology, social Chilean’s history and Latin-American history, despite I didn’t like the teacher, but the books that he gave us to read were very interesting.

Secondly about my performances…I have to say that I don’t made my best effort…why? I’m not sure, but I think it was because I have some familiar problems that affect my concentration and hours of study. And also because the rhythm of study in baccalaureate was quite different that in anthropology, which we have to read so much more and study less by memory. Despite all this things, I know that I can increase my marks and next year will be so much better.

Summarizing, I think this year was good, not excellent but neither intolerable. It could be better but I don´t have nothing to complain about because I although learn a lot of new things and I have many new experiences that the only way to have it, is living it. Well dear classmates, I think this is my last post… I hope some things that I say here, in these blogs session were interesting to you, or at least wasn’t too bored to read.
Lucky in this end of semester and in your exams (if you have to do someone)
So, Bye!

A Piece of News

Hi everyone! today I'm going to talk about a new which appears in the newspapers "el mercurio" of today talking about some new information about the suppose espionage that Chile makes to Peru about the army that they have.
The news began talking about the aparition of a few emails writed between Victor ( the suboficial of the aerial force of Peru) and Oscar ( the chilean spy) asking for information about MIG-29 upgrade, the radar RMTH-3747, the plan of training of the aereo material combat, helicopters and transport, the information about the state of some prject of intelligence, the radar installation system, the national system of remote sensing from space and the army Halcón-Cóndor 2007.
Honestely, I think all this matter about espionage is ridicolous and have a hugh repercution in the population that only favors to the hate and angry between two peoples that most be brothers.
If this news is truth, well, always and in every country exist the posibility of espionage, but I think we don't have to promote this type of attitudes because they create an atmosphere of distrust that don't help anybody and dificult any instance of dialogue.
Well, that's all for today ....or that I hope...:(
See you soon!
Bye

Challenges in Anthropology

Hi classmates!! today I'm going to talk about the challenge of my carreer.Well, first of all I have to say that the students of anthropology of the whole country (or almost we tried)
was held last week at our faculty. The title of the meeting was: “Ruptures, experiences and projections”, so students from different points meet to know what has been done , what is been doing in all the different anthropology schools of Chile, in order to propose general perspectives about how us, as students of anthropology, believe the career should be project toward the next future.

If you ask me, students from others universities had a very different perspectivefrom ours. I don’t want to comment their way of how to make anthropology, or compare it with the way from this university, because I think is not appropriate (at least not in this moment). I think one big challenge of the discipline is to generate an open and critical discussion among the differents points of view of the anthropology, especially among different universities. In fact, studying Social Anthropology in Valdivia than in Santiago is complete different, not only because they are immersed in different realities, but also because there are differences in the academic program and methodological focus of each faculty.

One important challenge of the discipline, especially of social anthropology, is the little work demand from the society (maybe I should use the word market instead of society, but I’m not comfortable thinking that your job opportunities depends exclusively on the fluctuations of the economical market). A lot of students enrol the career thinking that they can make a real contribution to society studding anthropology, but when they face the “work world” they discover that maybe is not possible to do what they really want, because almost nobody gives money to do social researches, and if they do, is because there are some economical interest on it. In a similar way, in our country forensic anthropologist don’t get the enough acknowledgment from their work as a forensic scientist (a doctor) could get.

I have to admit, that is true that anthropology is a new discipline (at least in Chile), but I believe is time for the society to recognise this discipline can help to solve serious problems that they have, like the Mapuche conflict, and several more.

I cannot tell about technological challenges of the discipline because I’m don't know it yet with the technical or technological display, like computational programs, used in anthropology.

Well, I think this is all for now!
I hope everyone is good in this final semester!
see you!
bye

Good and bad points

Hello classmates!!
Today I'm going to talk about good and bad point of the last semester.

I think last semester was great, because I learned a lot of things, and a world of options was opens with my entry to this faculty. I learned to know new people and work with them. It's truth that it was a very hard semester and I had to study a lot, but all this efforts had paid off in all sences.

Also a start a "sport" in my free time, I'm learning flamenco, which is very great and where I also knew new people (even of other campus) of differents years of study and it was very fun the classes with all they.

The challenges that I had to face was the academic requirements that's very difficult when we start but with the time I get used to it, so now a I'm very happy and ready to face new challenges.

Well I think that's the summary of this first semester, I hope yours had been so great like mine.
See you in class!
Bye

Summary from a career-related article from The Guardian

France was paying tribute to one of its greatest intellectuals, the social anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, who has died at the age of 100.

Lévi-Strauss was a structuralist thinker, who devoted his five-decade career to the study of the human species around the world, is credited with having revolutionised the study of anthropology for the 20th century.His structuralist method, in which he searched for the underlying patterns in outwardly diverse social rituals and mythology, led him to study the differences- and similarities- between western countries and American Indian and Amazonian tribes.

His career blossomed in the 1950s with the publication in 1955 of Tristes Tropiques, a book hailed by many as one of the greatest works of the century. In it, he predicted the eventual demise of the human race. His theories, espoused in a series of highly acclaimed publications including The Savage Mind and the four-part Mythologiques, led to him taking his place in the pantheon of France's great 20th century thinkers.

People like the foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said Lévi-Strauss stood out not only for his scholarly accomplishments but also for his "moral convictions". "[He] broke with an ethnocentric vision of history and humanity," Kouchner said. "At a time when we are trying to give meaning to globalisation, to build a fairer and more humane world, I would like Claude Lévi-Strauss's universal echo to resonate more strongly."

On the other hand, Hélène Carrère d'Encausse, perpetual secretary of the Académie Française, of which Lévi-Strauss was a member, praised his "extraordinary openness of spirit". "He was a thinker, a philosopher ... We will not find another like him," she told French radio.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/nov/03/claude-levi-strauss-dies

Improving your Faculty Facilities

Hello classmates!
Today I'm going to talk about the absence of somes facilities in my faculty.It's truth that not all is bad but always it can be somes improvements, specially if we want to open the comunnities to all kind of people.
For example, for handicap people it will be impossible to log into the faculty. First because the few access for handicap are not visible and secondly because the few that we have are hardly accessible.

Another thing, which is a problem (I supose for all student) is the scarse books that the library have. Sometimes we have to go to another faculty searching a book which are of our own careers. So is very frustrating go to YOUR library and not found a book of your carrer or if it exist there are only one copy of it. In the same issues, exist the problem that the days you can keep a book of another library, sometimes is too short.

About the infraestructure in my faculty, I think is not too bad, but , like I say previously it can always improve. In this topic, I think the ventilation of the classroom are not very good, because when you have a class with 60 persons and only two windows, it can be hard to follow what the teacher says if you are stifled in the room.

So, what would be my first steps to dealing with this situation? Say what I think in the spaces created for express student opinions and propose some solution for this problems. For example, for the problem to the access for handicaps we have to install more ramps and signage for all people know where there are. To improve the libraries problem, first I will buy more books and then install an egalitarian system of loan for all students. Finally, we most improve the ventilation system of rooms.

All this things, I think will improve the student life, making ease some aspects very important for a student like the case of the purchase of books and oxygen for our brains to paid attention in class.

Well, I think that's all for now.
See you soon!

Election Day

Hi classmates!
Today I'm going to talk about the election day. I have to say that I'm not registered to vote. Why? Simple. Because I don't beleave in any politician who presented in this election year (or in any election, because i believe the politician system in our country is worn and very tainted). I think anyone represented me, so why I have to give my vote to someone who don't represented me?
Also I think electoral campaings are appalling, they don`t say anything real, utopias are sold promising a better country (promeses that they don't not intend to keep) and the method to win votes is disgusting.Because all candidates go to rural sectors to give gift to people to some way to buy them and buy they votes.
If you ask me, about what the qualities I think a person for running for president must have, I have to say that this person have to be honest, inteligent (with at least with an university carreer) and with the real force to make change and not left alone with the words. But this person doesn't exist yet in my country , because old politicians no leave young people and minorities be included in the system.

Talking about politicians, I've have to say that I never though in become a politician because I think I don´t won't to be a a public figure. So if, I have the "chance" ( if we can talk like a chance, a good think to became a politician) to work in a ministry I think it would be in the culture ministery. Making what? I don't know....

Problems or rather thematics that I think require an immediate solution in my country are in the area of education (access, price), health , transport, correction of the binominal system and review the financial system of proyect in culture.
Well, that's all for today.
See you in class!

Criminal Laws

Hello Classmates!
Today I'm going to talk about criminal laws in my country. Well if you ask me how the criminal and judicial system in my country is, I have to answer that it is very bad, but not because there is no professional people to do their work, instead the problem is the laws that they have to apply are wrong, the system is very slow and tedious, with a lot of papers to fill in and give it to many people (which is in different places!).

But, despite all this things that don't work, I think the capital punishment is not the solution for criminality, because I think people can change, so I think instead of spending money to introduce this method, they have to invest in rehabilitation and education for them. Because in that form, when they are free, they will be able to work in something or have at least the chance to search for a decent job and not fall again in criminal acts. Also I think we have to generate moments were the family could have psychological assistence to help them to reincorporate her/his relative who has been in jail.

About the measure that I think the government has to take is to increase the criminality rates in Chile, are first of all, more prevention in communities of hight risks and secondly "hard hand" with recidivist.

On the other hand I think criminality has increased lately because there is a lot of opportunities to have fast and easy money for people who don't have it. So I insist that prevention is fundamental to decrease the number of robberies, burglary, pick pocketing etc...

Well that's all for today!
See you in class!!

What to do / Where to go in Santiago

Hi classmates!
Today, I have to talk about what places a foreigner must visit in Santiago.
For me is very dificult to say, because I live in this city since 2008 so I don't know (yet, this is an insinuation for my friends to take me to the most important places here:) )all the city or all the important places.
For all this, in this blog I will talk about places that I know and that I think it would be interesting for a tourist or a foreigner.

My top 5 of activities and places that I think a tourist must visit are:

1. Bellas Artes Museum, because, for example at this time there are an exposition of a chilean sculptor call Mario Irarrazábal which work is very good. Also I think this is a beautiful place to know and to walk because it has a wonderful park next it.

2. The palace La Moneda (of course!) because is the presidential house, so is a very important place and it has a museum in the underground which , in general, have very good expositions.

3. La Vega, the market place, to see the vegetables and fruits that we have in our country, and like it is very cheap, encouraged to buy some of this food for taste it. Also you can eat seafood for a modest price.

4. La Piojera, to know a typical places and a typical drink (cheapest) in Chile, like the terremoto, which is a drink done with pinneapple ice cream, pipeño and fernet.

5. Finally up the San Cristóbal's hill for have a wonderful view of the enormous city of Santiago.

Well, I think this is all for now.
See you in class!

Education

Hello Classmates! Tooday I'm going to talk about my experience in High School.
Well, I have been in the same school since I was 5 years old, so I had the same classmates since tehnthen to Cuarto Medio. I think, it was a very good experience, because I had the chance to study at Aliana Francesa, so since I was a little girl I learned a second language and then when I arrived to High School I learned my third language that was english. I have to admit, that I always hate this subject, because it was so difficult to me, and understand the grammar of this new language was so hard to me, even today I have difficulty to distinguish tenses.So I think, that was the subject that I hated the most, even most than math!
But, I have to say, that I always have very good teachers in all subject, and there were very kind and precupate by their students.

Respect of the question how much the level of education that I received affect my decisions in life, I think that affect my decision a lot. Because, in my case, high school was a very important opportunate to know and learn a little bit more about the world, in an academic sense.

If you ask me, there are so many things to improve in our current educational system, specially in public system, who really sucks! Because theirs a confluence of factors that affect the educational lever, as for example the teacher's pay that is very miserable or the low level in infraestructure, to give some examples...

About the question how responsable is every person in his own education, I think he/she is responsable of the 50%, and the other 50% depends of his social condition, and it´s hard to say but its a raw truth, how much he/she can spend in his education. Because in this country, for have a good education level you have to be capable to pay a private school for give it.

And finally, about the sense"when the student is ready the teacher appears", I think it's not truth one hundred percent, because most time the student are never ready, or when he/she finally is, the teacher don't appear. It´s sad, but I think is the awfull truth.

Well, that´s all for now, see you at next week!

Transantiago: Before and After

Hi classmates!
I think I'm not authorized to talk before the transantiago began because I live in Santiago since 2008, so I don't know about the old system very much. But I can tell you about my experience in these two years with this public transport system.
If you ask me, my experience is very good, because going to the university I have to take only one bus, which leaves me one block away from the entrance of my university, and ( fortunately) the bus stop is near my home ( I have to walk only four blocks straight on down my street) so I don't have problems with this new public system. But I think it's safer and it's easier to have information as for example, what bus I have to take to go somewhere or what combination I have to do, because the webpage that they have is very clear.
But, of course it is not a perfect system, I think it's important to have more buses to decrease the waiting time, because there are people are not as lucky as I am and don't have to take two buses very early in the morning and they have to wait sometimes an hour to take the right bus because (specially at peak hours between 7 at 9 am) the buses can`t take the demand at these hours.
In summer, this new system works well for me, but it clearly has a lot of failures (furtunately all with solutions , but it requires time to make it work better than today)
Well that's all for today!
See you in class next monday!

A Country You Would like to Visit?

Hi everyone! Today I'm going to talk about a country I would like to visit. I think, among all countries that I would like to know, at this moment I would like to go to Greece, specially Athens, because, since I was a little girl I loved Greek mythology so I always dream to go there and know about the places I had read about.
I don't know everythingabout Greece , actually I don't know anything at all, but I want to discover in this epic trip the secrets of a country that I only knew by books.
Despite, everything I say in paragraph before, I think (for me) Greece is not a country where I would like to live (or maybe in my trip I would change my opinion) for two reasons. First, because I don't speak Greek and I think it's a very difficult language. And secondly, because I love the rain, and as I know, Greece has a meditarrian climate, where it doesn't rain very much. So, if I had the chance to go it would be like a simple tourist who wants to know a little bit more about the stories that heard in history class at school and in its mythological books.
Well, I think that's all for now
See you at my next post!

" Do schools kills creativity?"

Hi classmates! Today I´m going to talk about a conference that made Sir Ted Robinson about the actual educational system and how it kills creativity of child.
If you ask me, I think that he propose it's a very interesting point of view and I have to say I agree totally with him.
I think the answer for the question of the title that I put up is yes, schools kills creativity of young people. Because it short wings of imagination.
By one hand, it despises all arts, putting them at the bottom of the list of subject to learn and only considers like it worth music and visual arts aside subject like dance and theather among others. And in the other hand, if a child have talent for one of this subject they sent him to a doctor as it should have a disease, because he/she doesn't acts "normally".
So , I think we should talk more about this topics because it concerned to our futur and more important at the future of the next generations.

My Blog's Experience

Hi classmates!
Today I`m going to talk about how was my experience writing in this blog.

Well , I have to said that has been an interesting experience because it was a good experience in the sense it allowed me to meet better or even only meet my classmates.

On the other hand , it was very tiring having to write every week in one block about a subject that I don't have thinking before. So, sometimes, I have to improvised about how and what wrote. I think , if I can make a suggestion, maybe the blog session it's too late, so it will be bettre to make it earlier because at this hours of the day we are very tired and only in the beginning ( because it's the first part of the term) we have a lot of energy at this hour, but now we are a little bit stress.

The subject that I like the most was “what makes me tick” because it was very fun to know that aspect of my partners. And the subject that I most dislike was “the best in my area” , because like I am only in the first year I don’t have idea who is it!

In summery, if I have to asses the situation and put it in a balance, I think it was most a good experience because it enabled to me to learn how write in english and at the end I think it's not so hard as I though as I start. Also I think it-s a very interactive way to learn to write and for loose the fear of do it, because, if I can everyone can! Finally, it was very usefull the correction that make the teacher and my classmates because it allows me improve my little skills in english gramar and sintaxis.

My Ideal Work

Hi Classmates!
Today I'm going to talk about how would it be my ideal job. If you ask me , I think my ideal work have to have some of this characteristics (preferably all).

First of all, my timetable has to be very flexible, preferably not working too early in the morning because I hate to wake me up early, so my ideal schedule have to start at 10 am. Also, my work have to fill my basic need, in terms of my futur salary. I want to live good , not with a lot of luxuries, but live comfortably. Also, I want to have money to eat well , and have some extra money for buy books.

In the other hand, I want to work above all things in investigation, specially at the university. So after I finish my PhD I want to came back and work here as researcher and teaching just like my aunt do and I want a job who demand me be all the time thinking and exploring. In addition I want a work that is in contact with people and not enclased in an office. Finally I want to do a lot of fielwork.

I thing it's very ideal my "ideal work" but nothing is impossible ( right?)
Well, that's all for now!
See you in class!

What makes me tick

Hi classmetes today i'm going to talk about something that makes me thick and I really like which is dancing Flamenco. First, I started when I was 13 years old, but no dancing flamenco itself, it was most like spanish dance which is the regional dances of Spain like sevillanas etc.... Then I started dancing flamenco itself, at 16 years old and now I do it at the university with the teacher Vicente Canales ( a short notice if someone is interested in going )

Despite the fact that I don't like to do any thing that involving physical exercise, I really like dancing this rate because it make me releases energy and destressed me. Also, I like it too, because the music that use and the dance have a lot of character and feelings. So I try not missing any class despite it's in launch time and I have other classes later.

That's all for today!

See you in class!

P.D: The images up is of a famous flamenco dancer called Eva Yerbabuena.

My favorite Subject

Hi classmates! Today I would talk about my favorite subject in my career ( Anthropology)wich is philosophy with the teacher Alberto Mayol. I like it very much because although the class is called philosophy of social science rather, it should be called epistemology (because that's what he really teach).In this class, we saw how differents kinds of knowledge is validated throught the history of philosophy. I always like philosophy and a found this branch of it very interesting. This semester I learning about Feyerabend and his theory of "fully served" and about the linguistic turn proposed by Wittgenstein. I also like this class, because the teacher is very funny so it's not boring to go. In summary, I think this subject in philosophy is very interesting and useful in my professionaly formation and it's a subject consistent with my interests.
That's all for now!
See you in class!

Future Life

Hi classmates! Today I will talk about my ideal future life. I expect in five years I will finish my carreer (Anthropology) and I 'll be doing a magister of social anthropology in genre in europe (maybe france or spain , i'm not sure yet) and i will be thinking of making a PhD in something related with genre too( or I hope that). In relation with my personal life I hope , at that time, not be dependent of my father (at least in the economically aspect), so I wish to be independent as soon as I can , because I hate borrow money to my parents and I like earn my own money.
In the other hand I don't think I will be married yet. I also hope to be living outside the country for have more experience and conect me with more people who are interest in the same studying areas like me.
Well I thing that's all for now.
See you at next class!

The Best in Your Area

Today i'm going to talk about Mircea Eliade, but he's not an anthropology like we can understand with a definition of a dictionary. He's most a philosopher than an anthropologist.

Mircea Eliade is a romanian historian of religion and a fiction writer. He written a lot about myth , how to understand it and how it works in some cultures. I think his most important book is "myth of the eternal return". In this book he explain how time works cyclically , and where it had a wear time and how throught rites that mimics the original time (how things where in illo tempore) the time can be renewed.

To summerize, I think this is one of more important person in my area, because he analize myth , religion and how time operate in some tribal cultures.(or thats the work that i know about him at today so i can only talk about this subject and not another that he can talk in others books)

Related to my career

Hi everyone!
Now I'm studyieng anthropology at the university of Chile. I'm in firth year. I'm studying this because I have the inquietude to know how other cultures construct his reality. Due the fact that a have an aunt who teach anthropology in this university I always have the information of it and sometimes I collaborate with her in some investigations.I think this discipline helps people ( and all society) to understand other people or society ror group and it helps to have a knowledge about the process in which they are involve and how to understand better the process that openned now not only in other society but in our too in the point of view of something so subjective, that could be the culture.
Anthropology will not need more thecniques that they have now , maybe there are not perfect, but they are very useful and ( in a pragmatic way) fullfils its function (now i think this , maybe when a progress in his study It likelly to change my opinion)
Now ,if you ask me which is my favourite subject , i most say ( at today) is philosophy of social science , because since i discover philosophy last year in bachillerato i love it, because it make me discover other ways to understand life , culture , religion etc...
That's all for today.
see you in class!

A photo I like

A photo I like Hi everybody! the topic of today is “A photograph that I like”. I have to say that i'm not a photolog fan because I don't like to share (something who are) very private as in the case of some photograph with people I don't know. On the other hand, I love to take photos ( specially with the camera of a friend of mine who has a nikon d40). But since today’s homework was to talk about a photo, well, I do it.If you ask me about one of my favorite photos , I have to say it's a photo who was taken by a French aunt named Christianne, who came to Chile with his husband and his brother to knew her chilean family and to make a short travel on a boat to the place who my great grand parents arrived from france in 1920 approximately. So this picture reminds me of the day when we went to this place called "la barra" who is in the rivermouth of the Rio Bueno in the limit of the tenth region with the new region of the rivers. In this picture we can see my mother and me with a coat on board of the boat looking at the rest of the house were my great grand parents arrive and were my grand mothers and their brother and sisters born and raised. It was a beautiful travel because there came all my grand mother's brothers , some of their children , some nieces and of course this french woman who came from very far from here to know(the place that they had Heard about since they were children.
Well, that's all for today!
See you soon!

A CAREER-RELATED WEBSITE

The reality is , I don't have a career-related website yet , but last year when i was at bachillerato i had a favorite web site , it was www.med.uchile.cl/apuntes/index.html , there were a lots of power point about (of course) biology, so it helps me very much when a do that course because it was very good explain the concepts and the power points had a lot of images so it was easy to memorize some biology process. I don't know why , but the link doesn't work now. I tried to enter it, but it says it don't exist any more.
In this few days the website what i use frequenly and who is related in some way wth my career its www.catalogo.uchile.cl were I search where are the books i need for study.

Assigment 2 : " My Favorite piece of tech"

Hi classmates! Well I think my favorite piece of tech is the computer, but not notebooks because i think it's too hard to write numbers with their tiny keyboard. So I prefer stationary computers.

I got my computer in, if my memory doesn't fail me , 2003 , my father gave me one because like he says "it's a powerfull instrument to make research" ( in this time , in programs like encarta , "the machine to make homework", salvat encyclopedia) and is a very good instrument to write school homework and now university papers.

I use it every day to listen to and download music, be at day time with university, class, friends and family news with programs like messenger, gmail ( for exchange information or send works to other people) and skype. I love skype because you can talk with someone who is far ( in my case my family who are in Osorno) and see them , but more important for free.

I think my life without a computer would be very similar , maybe it could be better because i would spend less time sitting in front of the computer and i would have more time to talk with my brother , because in one sense , when you have a computer you are tranformed into a sort of slave of it because you have to be outstanding it all the time.

My name is Alejandra and I come from Osorno. First I study Bachillerato and now I study Antropology ( I'm in first year).I considered myself like a very quiet person and I love read ( specially books writen by José Saramago).I expect with this course to learn speak english better and also learn to read it , because that will be very important to my professional development.