The last blog post

Looking and remembering about this year, in perspective, I could say that it was a little bit boring; I did not do so much funny things or started new activities. Unfortunately I didn't went to any concert, but I wanted to go to some during the year, and the exhibitions that I visited was not really interesting to me, so I don't remember details.

So I will talk about a movie that I saw and was very special to me. The name of the movie is "Entre les murs" in French, but the translation to English is "The class". I saw this movie with my boyfriend at the Cine UC (on the UC Extension Center), and it was part of a festival of international movies (SANFIC), so the film-maker, Laurent Cantet, was there to present the movie and make some comments about its production.

The movie was interesting and special because of the topic it talks about: education. First of all, it was made about the real facts, that is that the film-group was looking the daily activities and dinamics for a year on a class of a French public school, and after that they made the movie with roles and facts inspirated on the reality of that class with the same students as actors.

In second place, the reality that was related refers to a poor French context with immigrant realities and problems like drugs or delinquency. It was interesting because of the style of the film-maker. It was real and with no excessive characteristics, because the problem was centered on the way of learning and the interactions between students and teachers and they dind't show that with morbidity.

This is a recommendable movie with an interesting topic. I was thinkg about it for weeks before I saw it!

Regards!

Practicing

Hello Classmates!

Today, in the practice exercise for the exam, we work with listening, reading and writing items. 

The first part was the reading part. I think it was simple, and it was not so difficult to me. I did not know some words, but I searched their meanings on wordreference website. However, I think it was a little bit long, because a reading item takes more time than other kind of exercises. 

At the second part, the writing one, I had some difficulties with the online format. I have problems for several minutes with the format to write the words. In general, the grammar and vocabulary were not too difficult.

At the last item, listening, I tried to pay so much attention because I think that I have some problems with this kinds of exercises. In general it was easy, but I feel that I need to improve.

Regards to everyone and I hope you have done well :) 

Social history

Hello classmates today I will talk about a "free topic".

It is really difficult to me to think about something free, specially in this few minutes. But I think that the History (as a discipline) is something interesting to talk about, and specially because I have been reflecting about it these days.

First of all I have to say that I am not a specialized on this area and my opinions have not been discussed with more people. 

This term I started being "ayudante" (something like the assistant of the students of a course) of the course Social History of Chile. In this course students prepare a investigation about a "social subject". That means that everything that they search and investigate about it has to focus on the social group that is the central affected and involved on the process and facts, not on the government or on the macro economic or politics that determine their acts.

This central thing of the social history is something that I knew since I took that course last year. But at this time it makes much sense to me. Because when you study a social science you can realize about a lot of social problems related with a macro structure (the social capitalism system), but the subjects about how to work or how to make reading on the direct reality are few.

I think that the way that the history works it's great methodologically, and it's similar to some Anthropology technique (interviews). But there is a huge difference with the social sciences, and it is on the politic objective that the social and the economic history put at the beginning. The history want to recover a voice, recognizing that this voice have been silenced for someone or something. And that process of silence (oppression) include an important subject, that lived that. His life is something to recover and the way to make history is from that or those subjects, the historic and politic subjects.

About this year :)

This year have been specially rushed and tiring, because of the long strike at the university and the new assignments with a lot of homework (specially reading work).

At the beginning, on holidays, I went to the south of Chile with some friends and my boyfriend. It was relaxing and exciting because of the places we knew. The most exciting thing was the bus and ferry trip to Chaitén, it was around beautiful natural and huge hills and different animals (particularly dolphins).

About the academic year, it has been tiring. I have had a lot of reading work for the most of the assignments, and specially at the end of the term (I think because of the strike), when I slept few hours repeatedly times.

I think that this year has been a huge year of knowledge, specially on the politic thing. I have strengthened my work on two politic organizations on the university and that is one think that makes me fell calm about something bigger (related with the social and change work) that I think that is important and urgent to do. 

An important new of this year was a family "change". My mom left our home and went out of the city with my father. It is something gradually and it has been a change about the organization with my sister to maintain our home (something that at this time has been toooo difficult)

I expect for the rest of the year something more quit, time to relax (out of this city) and an accordance feeling.

Regards! 

Clotario Blest

Hello classmates!

Today I am going to talk about a person that I think was great.  His name is Clotario Blest Riffo and he was a leader union (he found the CUT) and an important leading figure along his life.

Clotario was a life leader because everywhere he was he tried to make something about the conditions of the people there, trying to organize them or make something about their relationships with their employer.

He was a union leader because he believed on the power and potential of the working class to make the revolution and stop the rule. It is an important point because Clotario united that aspiration with a Christian belief and that was a revolutionary thing on his time. Besides he believed on the autonomy of the workers on his dispute and emancipation, putting the traditional party away.  

There a lot of things to say about his life and his thoughts, so i will list some landmark to make this easier. When he was on the seminary was expelled because he organized a strike opposed to the authorities. On the 30’s he found the group “germen” related with the ideas of “la teología de la liberación”. When he started working with public workers he understood that his organizational work will be difficult. Since that day he started organizing workers with things out of the formal politics: the football.A few years later he found the ANEF and more later the CUT.  

I think that Clotario was an important person because he thought about the revolution and the organization as a way of life. He was so disciplined about the things that he thought that were important to be a tenacious person and he actually did that until the day he died.

If I could talk to Clotario I would like to ask him about his training and about the educational ways he used with the workers.

Laurita

Today I am going to talk about my Pet. I've had just three pets in my life: a little turtle named "Florencia", a boxer dog named "Brownie" that my best friend gave me when I turned 17 years old and my cocker-poodle dog Laura.

Those three animals were and are very important to me. But I have an special relationship with Laura because she is the only one who lives with me now (and we have lived for 7 years together), so I think that I could say more about it. That doesn't means that I don't love my other pets or that I don't spend time with them.

Laura is the only dog that lives with me because she is like a little old dog so quiet that sleep so much and is the all time asking for petting. Brownie is huge and need to run the hole day so that is why he lives in my father's house (out from Santiago)that is bigger.

Laura came to my house 7 years ago, on my sister's birthday, when she had 4 years old. Before that, she was my aunt's dog, but my aunt gave us Laura because she was moving to other city and we were so near to Laura (we used to go to visit her home to play with her and to care her when she was alone).

Laura was a "easy" dog that always was loving with everyone, so the change of home wasn't so difficult to her (or that is what we always thought). She used to wait us (my sister and my) every day to play with a teddy picker and bite it. At this time she does just the same thing and the rest of the day she is sleeping on our beds.

I love to came home and see her waiting me with a teddy picker on her snout and running by the house. I use to put water on her container and to clean the courtyard.

Regards :)

Here is Laura with Bownie (when he was a baby) on me.

A friend of mine :)

I think that a friends is someone who you can trust and who yo can be yourself always. I have few close friends, but today I am going to talk about one who is really close to me and who is with me since a lot of years. 

Here we are at the school, we had 14 years old!

The name of my friend is Constanza, but everyone calls her Coni. I met her in 2005 at the school, but we make good friends later, like in 2006 (7th or 8th grade). I remember that we were part of the same group of friends but with the time we get closer. Then we were always together at the school and after it, we met our families and shared vacations, secrets, problems and our entires life. 

I feel really happy to have Coni, she is a huge part of my life that I wouldn't like to change. We have been to each other all these years despite of the last time when we separated a little because of the University and the new obligations.

I think that we are really different. And I try so hard to respect hers different points of view. She really like science and video games (things that I don't like), and she hates to read or to talk about conflictive things (things that I do). But we share some simple things like our love for the animals, some kinds of music, the love for the food, swimming, trips and laugh. 

Despite of our difference I think we share a story of a lot of things that we live together and that is something really hard that keeps us together. At this time we get together every week, because we study on the same campus. That is something that we are trying to do since a few weeks ago, because when you study is difficult to meet with your friends.