news sects

Really i don't know much about sects...I only know that it cames from the subdivision of religions. I think that today the meaning of the word "sect" it's much bigger because there's around the word so many strange groups, that turn around many things. In fact, I live in front a big square in metro Universidad Catolica and I always see a lot of things: the "Harry Potter Group", (some boys around 17 years old who dresses like Harry Potter and go around the park with they magic-wand doing I don't know what). There's an other group of swordsmans who practice the ancient thechnique of medieval fighting (that's original). And an other group, like a kind of POKEMON who gather to dance some freek dances like tectonic (a particular dance which came from Europe). Maybe people says that sects turn around something more mystical. But I think that nowadays ideologys, references and ideas changes every day so I think that maybe those groups, that can be considerated like more superficial, can be a sort of news sects, in a word that change the faith in a god on the faith in technology and mass culture. I think in that way people find sects appealing simply by the fact that they have their own secrets or a special or very specific way of see the word. Anybody imagines why those people are SO interested and sometimes obsessed about something like a manga or a computer game. The amazing thing is that people turn a aesthetics in a way of seen the word. And its depends how tolerant is that way of seing the word if the sect is dangerous or not for the society. If the ideology of the sect involve to reject and ATTACK other points of view it's a bad thing...

I think that my faculty have a lot of problems in all the senses. In one hand there're so many administrations problems. There-s so much burocracy by the fact of beibg a "public university", and on top of that the administration system is a mess. And really, i don't know which is the heart of the matter. Thinking in the fact that the Universidad of Chile is an old university, it shouldn't have those problems. Maybe, this university was in old times, quite organised, but now in the present it has a few problems to adapt to news systems, like technology, virtualisation of the information, and specially the market system. The worst example is when, i don-t know how, your marks appears changed!!!That situation is so ridicoulus because Chile buy northamerican hardwares but those are not adapt to the real situations of the universiry, like internal flexibility...(internal irregularitys)

An other current situation is missing teachers...and that-s because they-re usually very good teachers, but in that sense they-re also writers or researchers, so they don-t have so many times to teach us, even if is their work (obligation). And because of the low salarys, the university don-t demand them.

On the other hand i think ther-re serious politic problems, because students usually don-t take part of the issues, but that is a country problem. I think that the most important is to improve the quality of education because learning to THINK, you can then realise the problems, and how important they are, so figth to improve the situation.

Chile confuse

I think that talk about identity is very important in this moment, because of the globalisation which is a phenomenon that transform the way we relate each other. Specially here in Chile, which is the most "developed" country in South America (in the sense of modernism). In fact, there's actually here in Chile, specially in Santiago an identity crisis demonstrate by a lot of statistical study: those studys confirm that most of Chilean people don't really know what makes them Chileans. In that sense, we can say that Chileans are confuse about their own identity. But there're in the paste of Chile, other factors that had influence in present-day Chilean behaviour. And that's obviously the "coup d'état" of 1973. Maybe, our generation don't realise the effects caused by this fact, because we were born when things was all ready done. A year ago, I did an investigation for the university about the culture in the  time of Pinochet. The truth is that is was quite shocked about the things I discovered. I realised that the lack of social cohesion was a direct consequence of the censure and repression that Chile suffered in those times. The military government cuted off the country by the fear . Fear of having others ideas than official military ideas. And i think that since those days fear still present in everybody. A fear of "the other", that makes us very isolated. The past , in combination whit the "globalisation" present reality make us very confuse. But, luckily there still are some things that connect each other like "las fiestas patrias" and also the football.

Gringos in Santiago City

I think here in Santiago there’re many places and things to do…It only depends on the tourist style.
If I were a tourist host I would try to take him to original places that wouldn’t were in tourism leaflets (like La Moneda, El Mercado Central).
I think there’re some interesting places in the city of Santiago, which are not so specifics… they’re more like areas which are special because of their arquitecture, their lifestyle. Those places which have a special feel but you don’t know exactly why. One of those places is the Area of Barrio Brazil and barrio Yungay. Those are ones of the more ancient areas of Santiago City and I like them because of their old style “neighbourhood life”: there’re a lot of publics spaces, like squares (Plaza Yungay, Plaza Brazil), cultural houses, neighbourhood councils (junta de vecinos) who are very active cultural and politically. You can find too the typical old fashion popular housing which is the “conventillo”. But one special place is an old fashion French “hair dresser’s” which in the age of 60’ was very popular because it brought the avant-garde French hair-looking. Today the “hair-dressers” still serving the public, but the second floor is transformed to an excellent restaurant. So “La peluquería Francesa” (the restoran) surely would be the place to eat whit the visitors.
Just in front, but in the other side of La Alameda there’s the street Republica, where ther’re are a lot ok popular cultural places, like the OKUPAS, the Museo de la Solidaridad

I'm going to focus on the subway of Transantiago's Progarm because it is a big problem in general.
In my opinion, the "transantiago problem" includes two factors: users or citizens, and authorities. Because in our system, unfortunately, those are the only two roles existing. In that way, I think that the basic problem is the fact that people don't have conscience about their own rigths. Or maybe, if we go deeper, people don't have the energy for figth for their rigths because they are tired from work and sleep from the TV. And on the other hand, there`re powerfull people who're working for those people to forget their rigths. When i travel by subway, i hate people, because they don't do another thing that complain, every single day, but they do nothing to change the situation. Besides, because of the extreme situation that the subway represents, people often repeat the same authorities selfishness, when they don't cooperate with the other passengers ( moving to the back when new people get in the train). I think that now the subway situation is much more deshumanize than before. People are seen like animals, and because of that they get more and more selfish. So it's a "catch twenty-two" that goes worse and worse. Maybe the "micros" of Transantiago are more secure and more confortable, but the subway is a shame. I can't understand the fact that authorities can't implement more wagons, or something like that. And i can't understand why people do nothing. The other day I listen to some gringos in the subway who didn't understand why people support that.

DOG'S RIGTHS

I'm going to talk about animal's rigths in Chile, specifically, dog's rigths. That because i saw in the news about one month ago a report about a new law wich "authoritys" (what a word!) want to found in Valparaíso. As you probably know, every year there's in Valparaiso, public's demonstrations (manifestaciones) to avoid the massive murderer of street dogs all around the port. Like in Santiago, dogs are considerate a dirty plague wich attent against hygiene and public healthiness, fact that we can't denied; however, we don't have the rigth, in my opinion, to start an animal genocide just because of the hygiene. Because that would be too hypocrite: my question to the authoritys is why do you have to make a dog genocide instead of stop the promoting of cigarettes (only one example in many others). Dogs don't have to pay our hypocrisy. I'm not saying that dog plague isn't a real problem, but i think that we have to found other solutions. But finally i'll tell you about that new that i saw last month and wich is directly related to this world: "hypocrisy". After people won the rigth to stop dogs killing, authoritys had the brilliant idea to fine (multar) people who feet dogs in the street. Obvously that is an other kind of murdering!!! I hope people don't accept it...

This is such an exciting topic!! (sorry for being ironic)

I just can't understand how they pretend me to talk so much about my "blogging experience".

But i'll make an effort:

The truth is that i 've never had a blog before. Neither a fotolog, a myspace, a flickr, a facebook etc...I've never understood the "virtual social life". I think i have a probblem with virtual life in general. I always prefer go for a walk, or see some friends that staying at home in front of the computer. A reason wich maybe can explain that, is the fact that in my house there's only one computer and my mother work in house, obvously in the computer. In fact, just now i have to get worried: my mum give me only thirty minutes for use the computer!!

In the english classes context, i think that blogging is a good option. Maybe if is not really my style, i think that we have to take advantages of virtual tools, and beginning to combine education and technology. Trying new supports open new ways for creativity. I think that the blogs make us feel that we have an own space. And that give us more flexibility, and more posibilities to express us, to talk about we really want to talk. I thing the blogging experience give me some fresh air...