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Post Graduate Studies

I always had in mind to continue my studies after university, because, for my personal purposes, I must improve academically. I would like to study in another country, maybe Australia, because I have a lot of family there that could receive me. I have two little nieces and would be very grateful to see how they grow. Also, because Australia has an interesting and valuable anthropological history, and I think I can learn a lot about totemism and how indigenous communities live hidden and marginalized from the first world.

I know that to continue my studies in a country like Australia, I need to master English as much as Spanish, because if the academic language in Spanish is difficult, in English it is more difficult. However, I hope to improve my skills in these years and, of course, with this class.

Some time ago I also thought about continuing my studies in countries with Spanish as the main language, such as Argentina, Uruguay or Spain. I really like those countries and each one has excellent educational programs.

The main reason why I want to continue my studies is because I believe that it is necessary to keep a fresh mind with all the new knowledge of this changing world, more now, with a deep social and political crisis throughout the world, added to the enormous environmental problem. that we face as a species

Themed Post

I love movies. When I watch a movie, I always analyze how a certain scene was filmed, or how the colors are in tune with the emotions of the moment, such as cold colors with sad moments or red colors with intense scenes. On summer vacation, I would watch a movie almost every day. My best friend has the same passion for movies as I do, and when we get together, we always talk about the last movie we saw. And if we can't remember the name of the movie, we talk about the actors and say: This actor, from this movie, and we end up talking about other movies and how these were made. It's great. I'm not a huge fan of mainstream movies like superhero movies so I never go to commercial theaters. I like independent cinemas. I'm from La Serena, and in the center of the city, in front of the main square, there was a cinema, it was called "Teatro Centenario", and almost every week they presented independent Chilean films, I used to go with one of my best friends from the school, and that was like a ritual for us. Free jazz concerts were also held in that theater, but the most important event that took place was "FECILS", the film and short film festival in La serena, with films from all over Chile but also from Latin America. The theater was outdated 2 years ago and it was very sad for me and my friend.

Personal Opinions

Most of the times I am very respectful with other’s opinions. In fact, I really like to generate dialogs where someone has an opinion different than mine and we both present our ideas to try persuading one another, I find that extremely interesting. I must admit that sometimes I am obstinate with some of my ideas and I find it awfully hard to admit that I am wrong, although I always end up doing it. When someone start to use arguments that can be offensive to the other person, my rude side gets activated and I end up, in a wrong way, trying to convince the other that they cannot say that sort of things.

I care about other’s opinions, only when said opinions come from people that I care about, like my family and friends. Most of the times when I am doing a test, I need my friend’s opinions to check mistakes or to know if they think my answer is the right one, in that sense opinions reassure my confidence. When it comes to more serious subjects, like politics or my own future, I tend to ignore other’s ideas, because I  have my convictions very clear and I only take to account the opinions of those who help me  make that decisions, which are constructive criticism instead of opinions.

When I was younger, I was more dependent of other’s opinions, and I remember that in more than one occasion I was sad because of what people I didn’t care about thought about me, I think it was a matter of insecurity.

CHANGES TO MY STUDY PROGRAME

Some time ago I was able to stabilize a bit my emotional balance. I was going through some up and downs, I was having some sleep issues, and most of the times I had no motivation to do the things that I enjoy doing, like exercising, playing the guitar or read, I only devoted myself to studying and doing college assignments in a reluctant way. I filled myself with perseverance, mostly through meditation and keeping sustained contact with my friends, but it’s been very hard, because my usual lifestyle is not hermit like, in reality, is the complete opposite, I love spending the majority of my time with my close friends, to share with them in parties or simple and casual reunions, I find it essential to have a dose of friendship. All of this has been reformed, and it has been very difficult, but throughout this 4 months that appeared to be eternal, I have learned to say: stay calm, there’s little left, hold on a little longer. I believe that is the only way of keeping my sanity. Also, reading stuff that is not from a college assignment has helped me a lot, like novels o essays about topics that are particularly entertaining to me, it keeps me motivated and at suitable mental tempo. However, I must admit that I am fragile, there are days in which the most minimal hint of pessimism floods my whole day, and I know that in a normal context it would not be like this. Like everyone, I believe that lately I have been more sensitive, but each day that passes is one less day.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CHALLENGES 

My biggest problem with English is writing, because it's something I don't usually do. In general, if I must use the language, it is for speaking, not writing, and I think it is much easier. In a conversation with someone who speaks English, one can say to be wrong in a verbal tense, but in the context of the conversation, the other person can identify the intention of what was meant, and generally this person corrects it, which in same time Time is very didactic. Also, when you have an English conversation with someone else, your ear is always taking note; look at new ways of saying familiar expressions, look at the pronunciation of complicated words. One problem I have is with people who speak fast, both in Spanish and English. In general, I keep a calm rhythm when I speak, so when I have conversations in English with other people, they follow a moderate rhythm, but, for example, if I try to include myself in a conversation of two people who speak very quickly, it is difficult to be able to follow the thread of the conversation. I think I have no problem understanding both, North American and British English, because I consider the Australian accent, which is a strange mix between the two, although with nuances more closely related to British English. Although I have never had a conversation with any British person, I do not think it is difficult, I have trained my ear with movies like Harry Potter, Trainspotting or Billy Elliot.

Act 4 PET PRACTICE

Meditation in my Life

Meditation could be a perfect way to find inner peace, slow down the pace of the mind or just relax. 

Ancient monks did it thousands of years ago on the vast  mountains of Tibet.  Nowadays it's common in great part of the population, especially one those who has been tired of the materialism and the individualism of this world, looking for a  spiritual background to find some meaning of sense to the fact to be alive.  

In my opinion, when meditation is understood from scientific perspective, as in the video, it loses its magic and essence, because it's something beyond the science, deeper than any study. When I say this, I do not deny the neurological scope that it can have, but from my perspective, the main point must focus on spirit and consciousness, both  terms that in past Science called  “metaphysics”.

I meditate since 2017, at that time I had a friend who practiced Buddhism, and one day he invited me to a meeting with a Rinpoche monk on the beach. He was the type of monk that we see on television or in movies, with shaved head and typical orange monk robes. I well remember the energy and the wisdom that he transmitted, especially when he said the mantras for meditation. That was beautiful and powerful because it was a collective meditation, and everyone there was willing to learn from Rinpoche, even when we didn't speak the same language. He communicated with us through a translator. That was my first deep encounter with meditation.

When I suggest meditation as a solution to cure personal and emotional problems, people tell me that it is not that easy, and obviously I understand, it is not just about sitting, closing your eyes and taking deep breaths, even more when they have never done it before. Like everything, it requires technique and practice. At first I didn't feel the “effects” of meditation, but I started to notice that my sleep was improving and therefore I say: in somehow works. Then when I started to meditate frequently, I started to feel a little weightless in my head, especially above my eyes, and I felt that my body had disappeared. 

Nowadays, when we are locked up in our houses, with all this strange and uncertain environment, some old problems have returned, and it is even more difficult when you cannot go out to clear your mind and change the air. In these circumstances, meditation has been my best friend, finding myself to maintain balance in my life.

I like the way this class has been developed, because it allow us to adapt the works to our time, but we are still learning, that's great.

Social Issues

Social inequality is the one of the biggest problems on our societies, and at the same time its one of the most difficults problems to solve. In Chile it´s brutal, as well as in Latin America. Here, just one per cent of the population accumulate more than 25% of the PIB. And those families, who has lifestyles similar to the wealthy in Luxemburgo or Monaco, are the same elite that always existed in this country; the aristocracy, the oligarchs.

They are owners of big retails stores, the mass media, food companies, private universities and schools, and the also pay politicians to maintain their privileges and do not pass laws against them. The State and the rich people are friends, and they work togheter in this company called Chile. 

On the other hand, the vast majority of the population lives in debt: to study, to pay the rent, to buy unnecessary stuff, in short, to live. The distance between them normal and the elite people it´s enormous, and that was the main point in the protests in October last year. You need to know language of money to get access to the basic rights, like health and education. But people are angry and want to change this system of injustice. 

Blog Session 3

My laptop is one of my favorites tech pieces . I received it last year, when I started college, because I didn´t have one before. Most of the days I use it, especially if we have homeworks or pappers to read, but if the week it´s quiet, I don´t use it.

Obviusly it´s a very useful tool for write essays, make investigations, and now to do class, but also as a means of entertainment. I ´ve compulsvily watched movies and series since I have my computer, I never seen such high quality productions before. Recently I started to play some online games with friends, like counter strike, for make this pandemia less awful. The audio equipament it´s also great, and I enjoy listen music with or without earphones.

It´s hard to imagine this stage of my milfe without my laptop, but if I wouldn´t have it I could use other ways of platforms to do my stuff, like library´s computers or read pappers physically.

Why did I choose this career?

When I was a kid, I enjoyed playing soccer, watching tv, laughing and hanging out with family and friends, like any other child. The future was something very far away, and I don´t remember thinking much about it. What I do remember is that I always liked learning new things, like playing chess or knowing the capitals and the flags of the countries.

When I had to decide what to study, it was very difficult, because in my last 4 years in school, I wanted to be many things, like engineer, lawyer, even musician. Those years were important to me because I experienced a lot of stuff, and that allowed me to star a new stage in my life.

My parents always thought that I would study a "scientific" career, due to my mathematical qualities, but for me, math and "hards Sciences" were something empty, soulless. I knew that something with history or philosopy would like me, for the kind of knowledge.
Then I started to search something with those characteristics, and I found anthropolgy, a mix of history, social science, and biology. It was fine, but not one hundred percent, until one day I had an epiphany: with my best friends we were to see a play about the Diaguita culture and showed how his legacy is forgotten, that made me say, yes, i want to study anthropology.
My first year was fine, I met some people with interest very  similar to mine.
I hope that when I finish studyng I can travel and get to know remote places, people with differents cultures, document everything and get paid for it haha...